Attacked
by fanwriterkris
Summary: Whose Line is it Anyway story.  Ryan and Colin head back to the hotel after a show one night, they decide to take a shortcut and a nightmare awaits.   First attempt at a story of this type, I mean no disrespect. Ryan Stiles,
1. Chapter 1

**************Written quickly, totally unedited and raw. Not to mention, I wasn't sure where to put it I've never tried to write a story about a show with actual people in it before. I do not mean any disrespect or anything to any of the actors. Just something that was for some reason going through my mind today, so I hastily wrote it down.*********

The entire cast stayed late that Friday night taping, something they did every so often just to relax and hang out together.  
>Colin and Ryan were the first to leave well after midnight, deciding to walk the short distance to the hotel in which they both had a room.<p>

"Let's cut through the alley Ry, it'll cut off a good 15 minutes". Both men were tired and ready to call it a night, Colin was beginning to wonder why they just didn't get a ride back to the hotel. But, it was too late now he thought wearily as he glanced toward his friend, who just nodded and took the lead through the narrow and long alleyway.

After walking five minutes into the sheer darkness, Colin felt a trickle of doubt race through his body.  
>"Maybe this was a bad idea. You want to go back?"<p>

The tall thin man in front of him spoke without slowing his pace. "No, Col. It's alright, we're probably halfway through already, we'll be okay. We'll just stay together and quicken the pace."

Colin agreed with his friend, but still had his doubts. They were alone, in the center of a long, dark, alley, and nobody knew they were there.

Just as these thoughts were going through his mind and just as he begin to pick up the pace even more, almost pushing Ryan through the alley before him, he saw the large group of men coming towards them, he knew this couldn't be good. It was too dark too make out much more than shadows but he knew there were several of them and the closer they got the more details he was able to make out, including the fact that a few carried baseball bats. Several people had been mugged and beaten in the city this way recently.

Ryan stopped in his tracks, speaking quietly to his friend behind him. "Turn around and start walking the other way, maybe they haven't seen us yet or maybe they don't care". Colin nodded and reached up to his taller friend's shoulder, turning him around with him, and they started to quickly walk back the way they had come.

Before they had gotten ten steps they heard a murmur of voices and then the sound of pounding feet as they had been spotted. Both men's first instinct was to run and that is what they did, but then Colin stopped,  
>grimacing as Ryan slammed into him. "We have to stop Ry, they probably have guns. Let's just give them what they want and we'll be okay."<p>

They turned around, standing side by side as the gang of thugs reached them. Colin could feel the tension in Ryan beside him and whispered one more time to just give them whatever they wanted.

The first three men to reach them first grabbed Ryan and threw him against the wall, wielding a knife to his throat, giving the warning that they would use it if Colin moved. Colin stood still as he watched his friend crash against the cement wall, thinking of the agony that must be shooting through his back. He was next, also shoved brutally against the wall where they were held until the rest of the gang arrived seconds later. Neither man tried to fight off this assault, hanging on to their hopes that if they cooperated they would then be left alone.

There were seven men in all, one stepped out from the new crowd and walked up to his captives,  
>instructing that they be turned around. "Not to smart are you? You make our work easy tonight,<br>we don't have to go out looking for fool's money, you brought it to us, right to our favorite alley.". Ryan spoke first "Just tell your pals to let go of us and we'll give you our wallets and clean out our pockets. We don't want any trouble and are willing to cooperate." The man grinned, happy to see how easy this was going to be, then he looked at Ryan again.

"Wait a minute guys. I know this guy, he's a celebrity!. I seen him on that show with the heavy chick with the make-up! We hit the jackpot boys, got us a rich one!".

With this, Ryan's heart sank and a chill ran through his body. He knew the thugs would be expecting a large loot, but all he kept in his wallet while on the road was about $50 cash and his driver's license. He kept his credit cards in the safe at the hotel desk. He knew Colin did the same.

Before he had another second to think or before he could catch a glimpse of his best friend, the men holding him were given orders to retrieve his wallet. They dug it out of his back pocket and threw it to their boss who preceded to go through it. He angrily threw out the driver's license and photos,  
>desperately digging for credit cards and cash. When his search was over he threw down the wallet in fury and demanded Colin's wallet be given to him. He went through the same procedure and then turned towards Ryan.<p>

The man was large and muscular and Ryan could do nothing but try to stare him down while not showing the fear that now overwhelmed him. Without speaking the man suddenly threw a punch into Ryan's gut which sent him instantly to the cold cement below. He was still on his knees trying to catch his breath when another furious blow hit him towards his upper back.  
>This sent him the rest of the way to the cold hard surface below, nearly unconscious. From there the kicks and blows from the bats continued while Ryan lay helpless to defend himself.<p>

Colin watched the scene play out before him in panic. He pulled against his assailants arms furiously,  
>but could not free himself to help his friend. His need to get to Ryan was tremendous and he tried everything in his power to overcome the two men holding him against the wall. He received a few blows himself in the process but in his worry and fear for his friend, he didn't even acknowledge the pain to his own body. The situations had quickly gotten out of control and Colin didn't know what to do to help his friend. The ruthless beating continued to play out before him.<p>

Then he remembered his cell phone which he kept in the pocket hidden in the inside of his jacket.

All of his friends and castmates of Whose Line numbers were set to speed dial on his cell, if he could just free one hand long enough to reach inside and dial one of the numbers, he may be able to get the help he and Ryan so desperately needed.

Without thinking further, the comedian fell to the ground as though he had fainted, slipping free of the hands that held him. While laying flat on the cement he reached inside his jacket,  
>felt the phone there and quickly pushed the first digit he came to and then the dial button.<br>All he could do now was hope that whichever of his friends he had called would not hang up immediately.

After doing this he shook his head as though he had regained consciousness and did not fight the hands that were already roughly pulling him back to his feet. This act earned him another punch to the midsection and the groan he released was louder then necessary. He had to get the signal across to the person who was hopefully on the other end of the cell. He spoke loudly and quickly "Please just stop this, we have money at our hotel and will give it to you. Please just stop hurting Ryan. You're going to kill him and then you will get nothing out of this. Our hotel is at the end of this alley right across the street and to the left, we went this way because it is a shorter walk, so it isn't far. Please just follow me there and leave him alone."

Greg had arrived at his hotel room shortly after parting ways with Colin and Ryan. Though all of the guys were staying in the same hotel, Greg got to his room quicker because he opted on a cab instead of walking. He was nearly asleep when his cell rang on the dresser beside him, he picked it up and saw it was Colin. He answered, figuring his two friends were going to grab a midnight snack and were asking if he wanted to tag along. "Hey Col, what's up?". There was no answer on the other end and Greg was on the verge of hanging up assuming Colin had called by accident.  
>Then he heard a mixture of voices and sounds through the line and he held the phone a second longer,<br>wondering what his two buddies were up to. Suddenly, he heard a moan and a second later Colin began to talk loudly, he was clearly afraid and in a panic. The voice was strained and cracking.

Greg listened, the panic rising in him as the words came racing through to him.  
>He didn't know what was going on, but he knew his friends were in trouble and he felt that Colin was giving him hints as to where they were. Greg knew immediately which alley they were down and jumped out of the bed, out of the room, and down the hall to Drew's room while never taking his cell from his ear.<p>

Drew was just getting out of the shower and climbing into bed for the night when the consistent banging started on his door. *You gotta be kidding me*...he got up and dragged his tired body to the door, looking through the peephole. "Greg, what in the hell do you want? I am done for the night man, I can't keep my eyes open any longer". He watched as Greg took the cell in his hand away from his ear and place his other hand over the mouth piece. "Open the damn door Drew, hurry!". Greg's voice and face caused his immediate response. "Okay, okay, what's wrong man?"  
>"Colin just called me, he didn't answer when I picked up, but something is wrong. I think he and Ryan are being attacked in the alley across the street. He left the phone on and I could hear him and others talking. We have to go now.".<p>

Without a moment's hesitation Drew responded his agreement and he and Greg bolted out the door.  
>Drew used his own cell to first call the police to the scene and then to call Wayne who assured them he would catch up with them. He kept his promise and met them outside the hotel.<p>

The three men were nearly to the head of the alley, going in a dead run, before Greg came to a stop and spoke. Breathless he questioned their motive "What are we going to do guys,it sounds like we are outnumbed here?". Wayne reached into his pocket and returned with a small pistol. "I'll shoot in the air and hopefully frighten them off.". Drew swallowed but nodded his affirmation as Greg did the same. "Okay, let's go".

Ten minutes later, they saw the scene playing out before them. In what seemed like slow motion the large man lingering above Ryan's still form reached into his own pocket and pulled out a gun, aiming it at Ryan's head. Colin screamed and fought against the men still holding him prone.

The three friends were close enough to see this but were yet unseen by the gang attacking their friends.  
>Wayne aimed his pistol upwards and fired three shots, praying that this would deter the thugs from their plan.<p>

The leader turned as the others jumped and spun in all directions. This gave Colin time to reach and grab the gun from the other man's grasp. The scene was then cleared as the gang fled back into the darkness.

Still holding the gun, Colin fell next to Ryan, immediately checking his pulse, relieved when he felt it beating strongly under his fingertips. He heard the footsteps behind him and turned rapidly with the gun in his hand, pointing at what he assumed was the gang back for revenge.

"Calm down Col, it's just us." Colin almost cried with relief at the sound of Greg's voice.  
>He felt even more relief when he was Wayne and Drew with him.<p>

"Thank God, he needs help guys. They beat him with a baseball bat. I don't think we should move him, but I'm scared those bastards will come back with backup if we stay here.". He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Wayne..."I've got a gun and you've got a gun, we'll be okay now pal."

Greg and Drew had knelt down next to Ryan by this point, trying to stop the bleeding at the base of his hairline and talking softly to him, in hopes that he would awaken. They noticed blood also seeping out of a deep wound on the back of his head. Greg pushed down on this spot with his hand, desperately trying to stop the flow of life blood leaking from one of his best friends and at the same time he looked into the sky and prayed for the first time in quite a while. *God, please help us.  
>Don't take Ryan from us or from his family, we need him here, Please God*. Up until this point he was afraid, though, not terribly afraid, but now, with Ryan's blood covering his hand, he was terrified that he was watching the man in front of him die. While still applying pressure he looked over at Drew doing the same thing to the gash on Ryan's forehead, he noticed the tears that threatened to escape Drew's eyes, and mumbled him "We need something to stop the blood, Drew...Dammit, he going to bleed to death. We have to do something".<p>

Wayne watched all of this in horror and knelt down next to the fallen man as well. He listened for sirens hoping that Drew's call had brought help, but he heard nothing. In Drew's panic he probably sent them to the wrong hotel and now it would take to long for an ambulance to get to them. He had thought about one of them going for help but that seemed to dangerous. Wayne touched the cool and scarily still arm below him and stood up. He looked at the blood that was now running down Greg's shaking hand and then over to Drew where he was met with the same sight. He could only imagine what the rest of Ryan's body looked like as he could see stains coming through some of the clothing. Not to mention the damage that may be unseen on the inside of the thin body. "We have to move him guys, I can carry him to hotel parking lot and we can bring him to the hospital.". This caused Colin to jump to his feet and began pacing and talking frantically. "We can't move him Wayne, they kicked him and beat him with a bat. They beat him up and down his back and all over his stomach, he could be bleeding internally or have spinal damage. We have to wait here until help comes.".

Drew looked up with tears in his eyes and nodded..."I called 911 Wayne, we should hear sirens anytime now.". Wayne put his hands on Drew's shoulders "We should have heard them by now, man,  
>they must have got the address wrong and we don't have time to wait for another ambulance.<br>If he is bleeding internally, that is all the more reason to go now and not wait, look at the blood on you! That came out of him, he can't afford to lose more!. Come on guys, we have to take him the to hospital and we have to do it now!".

Colin spoke up again "What about his back? We may cripple him for life".

Drew just shook his head, in a soft and sad voice..."That's a chance we'll have to take col, I'd rather him alive and paralyzed then gone, and I'm sure you all feel the same. I also think he'd prefer it that way as well".

Greg was staring down at the blood on his hands and then over at the face he had known so long,  
>usually a face that was full of life and mischief dancing in bright eyes. Now that face, beloved by so many was paling as the minutes passed by. He looked up and nodded his head in agreement.<br>"Wayne is right, we have to get him to a hospital and we can't wait".

Colin coming to realize that the others were right, decided they'd deal with any future issues as they came. If Ryan was paralyzed, they would cross that bridge when they came to it. Right now,  
>saving his life was the main priority and it was becoming more and more clear that help was not coming. Colin knelt beside the man who had been his friend their entire adult life and took the larger hand into his own before looking up at the others. "Okay, let's go".<p>

Wayne jumped into action, and with the help of the others gently lifted the tall but slight man into his muscular arms. They did the best they could not to jostle Ryan's body while still rushing out of the alley and into the parking lot of the hotel. Drew's car was closest and they took little time to gently deposit Ryan into the back seat, noting that he was still out cold.

Drew grabbed some towels from the trunk, throwing them to Colin who had situated himself into the backseat with Ryan, keeping pressure to the visible wounds as best he could. Drew then jumped into the driver's seat, Wayne took the passenger seat and Greg ran to his own car vowing to meet the others at the emergency room.

They reached the hospital not long after and Wayne ran in and returned with help. Doctors and nurses came out and stabalized Ryan's back and neck, then they moved him to a flat board stretcher and preceded to rush him into an examining room.

The other three men could only set in the ER waiting room and await news on their friend.  
>Police came and questioned them all, particularly Colin, who gave the best description of the attackers that he could. After the initial shock had worn off and Colin began to really think about what he and Ryan had just been through, he became even more upset. The others watched him pace constantly, trying to comfort and calm him down, but nothing helped.<p>

Hours later, after the blood had been washed off their hands and Colin had all but walked a hole in the floor, a nurse came and told them Ryan needed to be taken into emergency surgery and someone had to sign the papers. Colin had authority to do this and did so since they could not get in touch with Ryan's wife. They were then brought to another waiting room. Hours later,  
>another nurse introduced herself and asked the group to follow her to ICU. They were immediately led to Ryan's side, his long body stretched onto the hospital bed. A brace still held his head immobile and though he was covered Colin was sure there was also a brace on the already fragile back. Oxygen was attached and several IVS were present. Bandages were covering the wounds on Ryan's head. Drew was the first to Ryan's side and he picked up the pale hand, noticing how cool it was to the touch.<br>Colin took the other hand, Greg and Wayne standing near the foot of the bed, each rubbing a foot through the covering. Moments later an older Doctor walked into the room, introducing himself and shaking hands with each man and then leading them into another private room.

"I am happy to say that your friend is now stabalized,  
>though it was touch and go for a while. The surgery was an invasive one and it will take some time for Mr Stiles to return to his normal life. He was bleeding internally from several different injuries. We have removed his spleen as well as a small portion of liver. His colon was also sliced and we had to remove a large portion, but were able to leave enough that he will not need a colostomy bag.<br>He has several broken ribs and one punctured a lung.

He lost a large amount of blood but he is now stable in that regard.

His right arm is broken in two places and will require surgery when he is strong enough. His left arm is broken at the elbow and the shoulder was pulled out of the socket. His collar bone is also broken. his will require a nearly complete body cast.

Mr Stiles left ankle is also broken, this break has been set and should heal without further intervention.  
>His legs are severely bruised and muscles have been damaged.<p>

All of this will require a near complete body cast.

The wounds in his head required a total of 400 stitches inside and out. There was slight bleeding in the brain but right now we are just going to watch it and see if it resolves itself, which I believe it will.  
>We won't be able to tell if there is any other damage to the brain until Ryan is awake.<br>I am sure there will be some form of a concussion. As for other damage to the brain, this can vary in seriousness and effect. Mr Stiles could experience long or short term seizures, massive headaches,  
>memory loss of varying degree, speaking problems, the list could go on and on, or he could have no problems at all. Any problems he develops could last a day or for the rest of his life. With injury to the head, no amount of test can foretell the outcome.<br>We just have to wait and see.

I understand that the patient had previous serious issues with his spine. His back took a number of licks, some with feet, some with baseball bats. There is very severe bruising covering his back. And I am sorry to say that there is a fracture to his spine, but one which we can repair with surgery which we will do as soon as he is sufficiently stable. Ryan Will be able to walk again if all goes well with the operation. Of course, there is a chance of problems with any surgery, but I do not foresee a problem occurring. This will not be an instant fix,  
>it will be some time before Mr. Stiles is able to walk by himself again, but with patience, help,<br>and perserverence, he will be walking as he was before this incident. He will need the help of his family and his friends. I hope you are up for it."

Drew, Greg, and Wayne started in a setting position but all ended standing by the window, trying to take in all the injuries Ryan sustained and to imagine the long road ahead of him.

Colin set in a chair, head in his hands. He was split in being relieved that Ryan would not be paralyzed and saddened that he would have to endure so much pain. He'd already been through more pain than a person deserved, striving to get through his days without taking pain medicine for his back. Life wasn't fair sometimes.

Neither of the three thought about walking out on Ryan for an instant, but it took a minute for all the new information to sink in before they were able to speak.

Finally Drew remembered the Doctors insinuated question and spoke up. "Of course we will be here for him through the entire recovery process, whatever we need to do, and I think I can speak for my friends here as well as others that haven't made it yet. We have also yet to get in touch with his wife, they are currently going through a separation, so I cannot say how she will respond to all of this. But, I can assure you that Ryan will have all the support that he needs."

The other three men nodded their agreement.

"I am glad to hear that he has such loyal friends who are willing to go through this with him. He is going to need all the help and support he can get. Hopefully he will be waking up within the next few hours, you guys should go get something to eat and maybe check back here before retiring for the night. He should be coming around by then and I'm sure familiar faces will help to calm and relax him. This moment will also give us our first glimpse of any brain damage"

Colin got up and shakily shook the Doctors hand, thanking him for everything he had done. "We will be back after we eat and clean up a bit.".


	2. Chapter 2

Colin stood in the shower and tried to let the hot water running down his backs soothe him. But it seemed everytime he closed his eyes he saw Ryan's body sprawled on the cold cement, and blood spreading like a river from beneath him. He could hear the baseball bats making contact with his friend's spine and could see the hard toes of the boots connecting with his head. Colin's eyes suddenly shot open, realizing that he had no idea how long he had been standing there. He quickly stepped out, grabbed a towel and preceded to put on clean clothing, not being able to avert his gaze to the pile of blood soiled clothing in the corner.  
>*We're going to have to throw those away* he thought to himself before walking out the bathroom door to find his friends waiting for him.<p>

Everyone was fresh and clean now as they drove the block around the hospital, searching for somewhere nearby to grab a quick bite to eat and then get back to the hospital.  
>They wanted to be there when Ryan woke up because they could only imagine how confused and frightened he would be.<p>

"Right over there. There's an I-Hops, we should be able to get something there quick enough."..Drew spoke from the backseat of the car. Greg pulled over without a second thought, nobody in the car really caring where they ate,  
>as long as they could get served quickly and get back to Ryan's bedside.<p>

Setting at the table Colin pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket. "I'm going to call Pat. I don't know how she will respond, the divorce is turning out to be nasty and the kids are the only thing keeping them on speaking terms. He really loved Pat and this is eating him up.". He fumbled the cell from hand to hand as he spoke, wavering on his decision to call his friend's estranged wife who less than 3 months earlier had been in bed with another man when Ryan walked into the house after deciding to surprise his wife by taking an early flight home.

Drew, studying the indecision on Colin's face, spoke up from the other side of the table. "I don't know, Col, maybe we should wait and ask Ryan if he wants us to call her. After the hell she has put him through, I wouldn't want her to show up at the hospital, it would only upset him. He's going to have all the stress he will need"

"I agree that the last thing he needs right now is Pat to come barging in the hospital, but his kids need to know their dad is in the hospital and they don't need to be told over the phone. Pat will need to tell them and for her to tell them, we have to tell her".

Greg had been gazing at the cooling fries in his plate while listening to this conversation, contemplating the situation and coming to the conclusion that Colin was right, Ryan's kids had to know their father was sick. He was not a fan of Pat right now for many reasons. Ryan loved his kids so much and it hurt him deeply that his soon to be ex-wife was making custody and visitation a battle. Because of this, Greg, like Colin, wasn't sure how Pat would respond to the news and the request to talk to the children, but he did know that she loved her kids and would do what was right for them.  
>After thinking this through, he looked up from the soggy fries and spoke quietly, "Col's right Drew, we have to call her. I know she's turned into a major bitch, but one thing she hasn't lost is the love for her kids, we all know that. She'll set the kids down and talk to them, explain things to them. Ryan would want that."<p>

After all four men agreed, Colin dialed the number. Pat naturally asked for information and Ryan's condition.  
>She did not mention travelling to the hospital and showed only minor concern, but she did promise to explain the situation to the children. Colin went through the call briskly, not necessarily wanting to talk to the woman, plus he was in a hurry to get to the hospital. After telling Pat that he would be calling back, he hung up the phone and the foursome took off so they could be there waiting when Ryan woke up.<p>

Less than two hour later Wayne set by Ryan's bed mindlessly flipping through tv channels. It was decided they would take turns setting in Ryan's room, so at the time,the other three men were in the waiting room or outside, calling friends who did not yet know what happened. Colin had been going through Ryan's cell phone trying to find his brother's phone number, he had found his parents' but none of guys thought it would be a good idea to give the bad news to the elderly couple over the phone. Wayne idly wondered if he had found what he was looking for yet, while still flipping aimlessly through the channels. He glanced down again at the prone man lying in the bed, he had been doing this every few minutes, but so far Ryan had not shown any sign of waking up. This time though, when he looked down two bewildered and frightened green eyes looked back at him. *Thank God*

He took the long fingers that stuck out of the temporary cast. "Hey Ry, you're awake!" Wayne meant to speak softly and gently,  
>not wanting to shock Ryan anymore than he already was, but in his excitement it came out a little louder then he intended. Ryan blinked and stared back in confusion, obviously lost. Wayne's heart skipped a beat, remembering the Dr's words earlier and the possibility of brain damage. *He's okay, anyone would be confused after everything he's been through*. Wayne squeezed the fingers a little tighter, put his other hand gently on the thin shoulder, and got closer to Ryan's face, to make sure his friend had a clear view of him.<br>"You with me, buddy? It's Wayne. Drew, Colin, and Greg are right outside.". Ryan blinked again and then slowly nodded before speaking, awareness filling his eyes. The breath Wayne was holding was released as relief began to come over him.

The voice was so low and strained that Wayne had to move closer yet to Ryan. "Colin's okay?"  
>Wayne was astounded that this is the first thing that came to Ryan's mind. He nodded, absently massaging Ryan's shoulder. "He's okay, Ry, he's right outside in the waiting room.". The weak voice whispered again.<br>"I thought they'd go after Colin when...". Ryan stopped to catch his break and Wayne broke in, becoming concerned. Ryan didn't need to get worked up right now. "He's fine Ryan, we got to you guys before they got to Colin." The green eyes bore into him as he spoke, relief evident but the fear was also still there. "I'll go get him, okay? I'll be right back, the guys are right outside and down the hall in the waiting room. I'm going to get the doctor as well, let him know that you're awake." Wayne looked down at his friend and waited for him to nod his understand before leaving. He didn't think Ryan was suffering from brain damage, but he knew he was still confused. He gave Ryan's fingers one last squeeze before walking out the door. "Wayne?", he turned at the weak, raspy voice. "Yea, man?". Ryan looked at him and then around the room. "I'm thirsty". Wayne smiled for the first time since the attack. "I bet you are, Ry. I don't know for sure if I'm supposed to give you water or just ice, but you just hold tight and I'll find out. We'll get you something."  
>He waited again for Ryan to nod before continuing out the door.<p>

Wayne found Ryan's nurse first and informed her that he was awake and talking. She told him she'd call the Dr in. "Oh, before I go. He's thirsty, is it okay if we give him water?". The nurse denied this request reporting that she would have to talk to the Dr before allowing Ryan to drink anything, or even be fed ice.  
>He then went into the waiting room where he awoke his sleeping friends with the news, going from man to man and shaking them gently awake. "He's awake guys, and he's asking about Colin, so I think you should go in first, Col."<p>

The shorter man nodded and stood. Wayne went to take the seat he had exited patting on the back as he went by.  
>"He's worried, man. He thought they went after you when they got finished with him. I told him you were okay, but he's not going to fully believe you're okay until he sees you with his own eyes.". Colin ran a still shaky hand over his face. "Okay, I'll go in and talk to him, let him see I'm okay, then you guys can go in.", he spoke softly while looking over at Drew and Greg who both immediately agreed.<p>

Wayne spoke again from his seat. "Just so you know, he's a little confused, which I think is expected." He watched as Colin nodded, relieved not to see a great amount of Alarm cross the older man's face. Colin began to walk out of the room, when Wayne remembered the water. "Oh yea, Col. He told me he was thirsty, but I asked the nurse and she said he couldn't drink or even be fed ice until the Dr comes in and says he can have it. She said he should be in soon though". Colin frowned at this, but only nodded and continued his way down the hall and into his friend's hospital room.

When he walked in, Ryan's eyes were closed. Not certain whether he was asleep or not, Colin decided to pull the chair back over by the bed and set down. The noise of the chair caused Ryan's eyes to pop open and immediately focus on his friend. Colin watched as Ryan's eyes scanned up and down his body closely, then again. He took the fingers that Wayne had held only minutes earlier. "I'm okay, Ry. I managed to call Greg's cell and the jerks with the bats were run off before they got to me. So calm down and stop worrying about me. We have to concentrate on you right now".

Colin immediately realized the flaw in the last sentence he spoke, and he waited for the questions to come and the horror that would fill his friends' eyes when he realized he couldn't move his legs.

This was one instance in which Colin wished had been wrong, but he wouldn't get that lucky tonight. He watched silently as Ryan's eyes left his own and looked down at his ravaged body, covered in casts, stitches, and bandages, wires and tubes seeming to be everywhere, coming from various areas of his body. Ryan's eyes then came to rest again on his friend, opening his mouth to ask a question and closing it suddenly, green eyes widening in horror. Colin's heart began to break at that moment because he knew Ryan had just realized that he couldn't move below the waist.

Eye's glistening and in a raspy voice, full of panic and terror. "Colin, my legs won't move". His watery and heartbreaking stare met Colin's only for a minute before Ryan lowered his head.

Colin swallowed the threatening lump before reaching to put one hand on the now slightly quivering shoulder and use the other hand to gently raise his friends' head, noting the tears that now freely down the thin, pale cheeks,  
>until Ryan's eyes met his own. "Look at me Ry, and listen. I know you're scared and you have every right to be." He spoke in a quiet and gentle voice, never breaking eye contact and refusing to let Ryan break eye contact. "The Dr talked to us earlier, he said that you're spine is fractured, but he also said that this in a place that can be repaired. He's going to do surgery later. He was confident that you will walk again, it'll just take time. We'll get through this, Ry. Do you hear me?".<p>

Colin watched as more tears streamed down the thin face, but was relieved and uplifted as Ryan nodded.

He used his thumbs to wipe the stray tears from his friends' face after looking around the room and not finding any tissues right away. Ryan spoke as he did this "What else, Col,  
>what else is wrong with me?". Colin stopped what he was doing and thought about giving Ryan the entire list but decided that he had heard enough for right now, they'd wait for the Doctor to come in, that would probably be a better idea anyhow. That way the facts would be correct. "Let's wait Ryan, but I can tell you that the spinal damage is probably the worse. You're going to hear a lot and it's going to take a long time for you to get better, I won't lie to you. But, I don't think there is anything that you will hear that is worse than what you have just discovered. I just think the Dr needs to tell you instead of me, that way the information will be right the first time."<p>

"Not to mention, there are two other guys out there that are dying to get in here and see you. I'm going to tell one of them to come on in.". He touched one of Ryan's feet under the sheets as he left out.

"Colin?". Colin turned and walked back. "What, Ry? I'll be right out here and either Drew or Greg will be in here with you in just a second." "I know, but I'm still thirsty".

"I know, I'm sorry Ry, but we have to wait for the Doctor to give us the okay to give you anything".

With that he walked out so Drew or Greg could take their turn.


	3. Chapter 3

As Colin walked out the door he turned once more to his friend "As soon as the doctor comes in and tells us it's okay, we're going to get you something to drink, okay pal?". Ryan just nodded. Colin was actually thirsty for Ryan, he could only imagine how dry his friend's throat must be. He was tempted to give him a few pieces of ice but thought he better wait until he's given the okay.

Colin met the Dr on his way to the waiting room and they spoke quietly in the hall. "Good evening Mr Mochrie" Colin shook the small extended hand. "I'm headed to ' room and you are welcome to join me as well as your other friends. I'm just going to test Ryan's awareness, give him a quick exam, and then we will discuss where we go from here."

"I definitely want to be in the room and I know the other guys will want to listen in as well, I'm going to get them and we will meet you there."

With that, Colin quickened his pace to the waiting room, alerting Drew, Greg, and Wayne of the Doctor's presence.

Moments later they were all gathered around Ryan's bed, watching as Dr. Gibbs asked their friend question after question in order to test his brain function and memory. Relief showing on each face as Ryan gave the correct answers.

"Great job, Ryan" Dr. Gibbs exclaimed with a smile, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"Now, I'm just going to check your surgical site, make sure everything is healing as it should." Experienced fingers lifting the hospital gown, removing the bandages and probing the long, staple lined site on Ryan's tender abdomen. When Ryan jerked slightly, the Dr apologized "I know it hurts, I'm sorry. It looks good though, healing very nicely. We're going to leave it open and I'll have a nurse come in when we are done here, clean the area,and change the bandages.  
>I won't be very much longer and we'll have you bandaged and covered back up". Ryan gave a weak smile of appreciation and Colin found himself thankful that his friend was blessed with such a personable and kind Doctor.<p>

Dr Gibbs continued his exam, checking Ryan's eyes, examining the wounds over Ryan's body which required stitches, as well as the multiple bruises, and running his hands up and down the lean torso, lastly checking the catheter, which obviously embarrassed Ryan a great deal.

Then he pulled an extra chair over the bedside and set down,making eye contact with each man in the room. "I'm not going to disturb the casts or back brace,  
>The Orthopedic Doctor will be in to discuss these issues and do more tests and he will be the one to do these surgeries when the time comes. I can't give you a date for any of these surgeries because we have to wait until you are strong enough and are more recovered from your prior surgery."<p>

Ryan's frail voice seemed to fill the room "But, I will walk again?". This came out more of a hope filled plea than anything else.

Dr Gibbs again put his hand on the thin shoulder and looked his patient in the eyes. "As I said, Ryan, we have another Dr for the Orthopedics, but from the x-rays I saw, Yes, I see no reason that you will not walk again.  
>It's not going to happen overnight, it's going to be painful and frustrating, but the fracture is in an area where it can happen. You just have to keep working at it. I did discuss your case with Dr. Wells, the Orthopedic surgeon and he agreed with me on this issue.".<p>

Drew spoke up from the foot of the bed. "See, Ryan, you're going to walk again. None of us will give up until you do.". The other three men nodded and stepped closer to the bed, trying to will their strength and belief into their friend. Ryan didn't speak again, but awarded them once more with a weak, but sincere smile.

Dr. Gibbs spoke again from his chair. "We also will have the neurologist back in. He'll probably take you down for more tests just to make sure we didn't miss anything and to make sure the bleed has not started again. He also wants to talk with all of you, as he can go more in depth than I am able to. But, Ryan sustained a severe concussion, this can cause long term problems, short term problems, or no problems at all. Any number of unseen brain injuries can cause problems as well. This could result in migraine headaches, seizures, the list goes on and on. As I said, I will let the neurologists cover this area with you. I am happy to report though, that Mr Stiles is alert and aware, I am confident that any brain damage can be dismissed. He's a little confused and sleepy, but that can only be expected. Usually, other side effects of brain injuries take a little longer to show themselves."

More nods of understanding and Ryan again spoke up. "one more question." The kindly doctor smiled again "What's that, Ryan?". Ryan looked up at him again with imploring eyes. "I'm really thirsty".

The Dr grinned. "Well we can take care of that, that's an easy one. The nurses are always told to wait for Dr's orders before allowing a new patient to eat or drink, but I know you won't be ready for more surgery for a while, so you can drink. He again looked Ryan in the eye before speaking again. "I know you may not feel like eating, all the medication and stress your body has been through will probably make you feel ill and not wanting to eat, but for you to gain enough strength for upcoming surgeries, you will have to make yourself eat, starting with liquid food like broth, Jello, and ice cream,  
>and then we will build from there."<p>

Ryan grimaced, clearly not interested in food, but softly said "I'll try". The Dr patted the fingers escaping from one cast. "That's all I ask. Just keep trying.". Turning to the other men.." Let's start out with ice for today, just a few pieces at a time to wet his throat. Too much to start off may shock his system and make him sick. The last thing we want is for him to vomit, it will pull at the stitches. The same goes for food, we won't even try today, maybe tomorrow we will try some broth if Ryan is up to it. He has to eat, but we can't rush it."

Wayne had been quiet up into the point, listening intently to the Dr speak. But, he now spoke up. "When will Ryan be moved to a regular room? He has a lot of people that are coming to see him and it's going to be hard to get everyone in here."

"I realize that the ICU does not make it easy for visitors, but I think Ryan's best interest is staying here until we able to go through with the back surgery, just in case an emergency should arise, plus the staff here is better suited to deal with spinal fracture patients, they know how to move them without further injury."

"One more thing I know will make Ryan feel much better, as long as you are willing to get a nurse in here to help you or if one of your friends is in the room to do so, I see no reason to leave the catheter in any longer. I'll get someone here to remove it later this evening. How does that sound?". Ryan gave an embarrassed but appreciative smile and nodded slowly before lowering his head.

Dr Gibbs gently massaged Ryan's shoulder once more than stood, extending his hand to the other men. If one of you gentleman would like to join me, I'll show you where the ice machine is located.". Greg was standing closest to the hall and followed the Dr out to retrieve the ice, with a warning not to overdo it.

Greg returned shortly afterwards and Ryan's wish, though very limited, was finally granted. 


	4. Chapter 4

Less than 2 weeks later it was decided that Ryan was strong enough for the reminder of the needed surgeries. It was decided that both surgeries would be done at the same time, with one surgeon applying steel plates and screws to the badly broken arm, and another surgeon tackling the much more critical back operation.

Ryan's frame of mind, for the most part, had remained blessedly optimistic. Not that he didn't have his bad days, but who wouldn't after lying flat on your back for two weeks. Boredom had been a real problem, and the other guys tried their best to keep their friend busy. They watched tv, played cards with someone holding Ryan's hand and simply abiding by his demands, Drew had him come up with details for new games on Whose Line, Chip and Jeff came often during those two weeks, talking for hours with their tall friend.

Within the first few days of Ryan waking up, he was eating fairly well. Even though, it often took food brought in from elsewhere to do the trick, he wasn't eating much and weight was melting from the already lean frame, but at least he was beginning to eat.

Severe headaches tended to be a common problem and the Neurologist was afraid this would be a continuing effect of the head trauma.

For the most part, though, Ryan was getting stronger and was ready for the upcoming surgeries.

Ryan turned his head from the offering, pulling the straw out of the cup as his face brushed past it. Colin simply replaced it and sighed down at his friend. "You have less than two hours, Ryan, I'm not going to try to make you eat anymore, but you better drink while you can. You're going to be thirsty later". Colin looked back up at the clock hanging on the pale wall, less than two hours to midnight, then Ryan wouldn't be able to drink or eat until well after he was out of recovery the next day.

"I can't Colin. Just thinking of swallowing anything makes me sick.". Ryan's voice, still weak and now raw with nerves tore at his friends' heart". He placed a reassuring hand on the shoulder,kneading gently and holding back a worried sigh as he felt the bones protruding from the thin hospital gown. *We have to get him to eat more*, setting this thought aside for the moment he looked into Ryan's eyes before speaking.

"It's your nerves, Ry. I know it's easier said than done and I know I'd probably be just as nervous or more so than you are, but you have to try and relax. You have two of the best surgeons in the state, it's going to be okay."

Ryan nodded, swallowed, then took a deep breath, looking up to Colin with trusting but still frightened eyes.

"I trust them, it's not that. But, what, what if my back is worse than he thought? What if his hand slips just an inch, that's all it would take. I would have to live like this for the rest of my life, I don't even like to imagine that happening. I, I...". The voice broke and one tear rolled slowly down Ryan's face as he let his head drop, staring blindly at the stark white hospital sheet that covered him.

Colin's heart broke a little more as he moved his hand from Ryan's shoulder and gently grasped his chin, lifting it until Ryan's eyes once again met his own.

"We can't think like that right now, okay pal? We have to think that everything will go fine."

Another tear rolled down the now slightly damp cheek "What if everything doesn't come out fine? I don't know if I could handle that, Col."

Reaching for the kleenex on the bedside table, Colin gently wiped the tears from his friends' face. "We're going to go into this believing it will. BUT if it doesn't, then we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, and we'll do it together. Nobody is leaving you, Ryan. Whatever happens, you won't be alone. We're going through this together, regardless of the outcome. But, we have to believe that the outcome is going to be good. Alright?"

Ryan nodded, looking into his friends' deep brown eyes. "Thank You, Colin".

Colin placed his hand back on Ryan's shoulder, giving it a gentle pat. "You know you can't get rid of me or of any of the other guys!" He grabbed the remote from the table "Now, what do you say we find a ballgame or something." Ryan, managing a shaky but sincere smile, nodded his agreement.

Friends had been taking shifts at the hospital, never leaving their friend alone. While Colin was with Ryan in his room, Brad and Drew were currently in a motel room, using Brad's cell to talk with Ryan's estranged wife, pleading with her and trying to explain his need to see his children. Several times since awakening, Ryan had asked about his kids and his request would be messaged to Pat, but she refused to let them make the trip to visit the hospital, using the excuse that it wouldn't be healthy for them to see their father in the condition he was in. The current conversation was becoming heated and Drew could see that no amount of talking was going to change Pat's mind. "I'm going to ask you one more time, Pat. And let me explain the situation once more. Ryan is going to go through major surgery tomorrow. All he wants is to see his kids. I will pay for the plane tickets and we will be there to meet them at the gate. I already checked and there is a flight leaving in two hours. Please don't deny him his children right now.". There was a moment of silence on the other end, then Pat's voice came through. Brad had turned the speaker on when placing the call, so both men could hear the common excuse that was her response.

"I will not send my kids to you so you can frighten them to death. That is what the sight of Ryan will do to them and I'm not going to let it happen. Forget it.". The voice was harsh and sounded cruel and Brad had just about heard his fill. His voice rose as he spoke. "That's an excuse and you know it, Pat. Ryan is perfectly lucid. Visiting with their father is not going to damage the kids.".

Another moment of silence and the shrill voice spilled through again. "They're my kids and It's not going to happen. That's final. Perhaps when Ryan is out of the hospital, I might reconsider. For now, I have things to do and this conversation is going nowhere."

Drew, deciding that she was right. No amount of rational discussion was going to help. Plus, the more he listened, the more pissed off he became. "I don't know when you turned into a bitch, but you listen to me. They're not just your kids. He's not able to fight this now so I'm not going to mention this conversation to him,  
>but when he's able and ready I'll pay for the best lawyer we can find, he's going to see his kids regularly, maybe not right now, but I promise you he will get partial custody. I know you're pissed off because you got caught screwing around and you think you're not going to get your hands on Ryan's money, but I didn't think you'd go this low, using his kids against him. Especially in his current situation. You damn filthy bitch, go ahead and go to your witches meeting or whatever in the hell it is you have to do. When you're done there you better start looking for a lawyer."<p>

They heard Pat clear her throat and began to speak, but Brad hung up before she had the chance.

He looked angrily at the phone a moment, thinking about smashing it to the ground, then looked over at Drew instead.  
>"She seemed like a nice, normal person the few times I've been around her. What the hell happened"<p>

Drew glanced at this friend, then down at his own, slightly shaking, hands. "Maybe you had to around her longer to see the real person, and then again, maybe it's just greed. Maybe that's all she ever wanted, was his money,  
>and she had to play to get it. But, I have news for her, I'll do whatever to takes to make sure she doesn't get a dime.".<p>

Brad nodded his head in agreement. "What about Ryan though, Drew? What are we going to tell him?"

Drew sighed, running his hand through the short cropped hair. "I don't know, but he's already worked up, telling him the truth will only upset him more. We'll have to think of something. We'll tell him they are in some kind of camp or on vacation with friends or something."

Silently deciding that this was probably the best route to take, for Ryan's sake, Brad looked his friend in the eye and nodded once more, then walked out onto the motel balcony to get some fresh air. He agreed that he would set with Ryan tonight and he would have to get there soon. He had to get himself together before he made it to his fallen friends' side.


	5. Chapter 5

Brad saw that Ryan was asleep and began to walk soundlessly into the room, but was stopped short by Colin who gestured toward the waiting room. Colin walked to a window in the nearly empty waiting room and stared silently at the sleepy city outside before he spoke to his friend, glancing at his watch then looking at Brad.

"I just wanted to give you an update before I leave. He's got 30 minutes before he can eat or drink anything. I've long ago given up on the food, but I know he's going to be thirsty. If you can, wake him up about 10 til midnight and try to get him to drink some water or whatever he wants. He will probably be hard to wake up because they gave him something to help him relax, it knocked him out." The older man ran a hand across his balding head. "He's so nervous and scared, he doesn't even want to drink, and to be honest, I don't think it's going to do me much good to go back to the room tonight. I can't see myself falling asleep, I'm almost as nervous as Ryan and it isn't my back."

Brad sighed, seeing the pained expression in Colin's dark eyes. "You have to get some rest, Colin. I'm not going to leave his side."

The Canadian again moved his gaze to the lights of the city outside the window, absently running his finger over the glass. "I know, Brad. That's not what I'm worried about, I trust you will be there with him. I'm just nervous about the surgery and listening to his fears only made me more nervous."

The other man nodded. "I know, man. This is rough, but we'll make it through. Oh, while I'm thinking of it,  
>Drew and I called Pat a couple of hours ago and she would not budge. It got a little heated. Nothing would convince her otherwise, I personally just think she's keeping them from him out of greed. Anyhow, Drew and I thought the best course would be to tell Ryan that they are away from home and cannot come. I know that is blatantly lying, but considering the circumstances, I think it's the best option, at this point anyhow. Plus, this is only if he asks.<br>What do you think?"

Colin shook his head and hit the window lightly with his open palm. "I can't belive she is doing this to him. I hate to lie to Ryan, especially about his children, but I agree. Telling him that his ex-wife is a sadistic bitch and won't let him see his kids is not going to help his state of mind. We'll keep at her though, I'm not giving up."

Beside him, Brad nodded. "I don't think anybody is. Drew really let her have it, even threatened her, promised that Ryan would see his kids regularly and basically told her she better have a good lawyer. Then we hung up on her, so I'm sure whoever she talks to next is going to get an ear full, so if she calls while you are with him, it's probably best not to let her talk to Ryan.".

"I won't.". He reached to pat the younger man on the back. "I guess I'm going to try to get some sleep. If you need anything or if anything with Ryan changes, call my cell.".

"Alright man, just relax and get some rest. I'll be right here with him and I'll try to get some liquids down him before midnight. Goodnight, Col."

"Night".

Brad watched until Colin rounded the corner of the hall, noting how tired and worn out his friend was, you could even see it in the way he was walking. He sighed sadly and turned to make him way to Ryan's room to set out the long night ahead. He hated hospitals, they'd always made him uncomfortable and nervous. He was thinking about this when he looked down at his stricken friend. *Ryan would be here with me if it were me in the bed, even with his bad back.*. He loved Ryan, he'd been a great friend for many years, he was generous with a heart of gold and a fierce loyalty to those close to him. Everyone loved Ryan, the playful banter and almost childlike antics drew people to him. Shaking himself from his thoughts, he glanced at his watch, noticing that his friend had less than 15 minutes to drink. He lightly grasped Ryan's shoulder, giving it a gentle rub.

"Ryan, wanna wake up a minute, pal? Take a drink of water before time runs out?"

Getting no response, he tried again. This time, the still vibrant green eyes stared groggily at him.

"Hey Ry" Brad smiled, bringing the straw to his friends' lips. "You have about 10 minutes, so better get your fill now."

He was relived when Ryan didn't reject the water and instead drank down a fairly large amount before stopping.

After setting the cup to the side, Brad looked back down at Ryan, smiling as he noticed him fighting to keep his eyes open.

"It's okay pal. You can sleep. I'm not going anywhere tonight and all the other guys will be here in the morning before they take you to get fixed up". He gave Ryan one of his impish grins, then smiled, rubbing the thin shoulder.

Ryan's voice was weak and Brad knew the words would be slurred if there were more than one, but all he got was a simple "Kay" and he watched as his drugged friend lost his fight to stay awake.

He grinned again, then picked up a crossword book someone had left and found an empty puzzle, settling in for the night.


	6. Chapter 6

Brad stretched his long legs, his body stiff and sore from setting in the hospital chair all night. It was a rough night for he and Ryan both, nurses coming in and out, taking vitals and just making noise.  
>Brad knew it was their job and was necessary, but how can they expect a person to rest like this. Of course,<br>they didn't really disturb Ryan a great deal, not in his drug induced sleep. He only woke up a few times, after the nurses purposefully shaking him awake to ask him if he needed anything. Brad yawned, stretched again, and looked over at his still sleeping friend, then at the clock, almost 7am, the other guys should be getting here soon.

The Dr had already came in, telling Brad they expected to bring Ryan into surgery around 9am. He immediately called Colin with this information and Colin told him he would pass the word and that he would see him soon.

Brad glanced down again and saw that Ryan was awake and was seemingly in his own little world. *Probably scared to death* Brad thought.

He got in Ryan's field of vision and smiled down "Hey, buddy. You going to wake up and give me some company?"

Ryan returned a weak smile in return, speaking in a soft,  
>gravelly voice. "I'll try. I don't know what they gave me last night, but I hope they don't give me any more of it. I can't seem to wake up."<p>

"It's alright man, you needed to sleep and relax. But, if you need any more we'll tell them to lower the dose"

Ryan nodded, taking his gaze from Brad to the bed side table. Brad followed his friend's gaze, realizing he was staring at the cup of water, almost salivating.

Brad gently turned Ryan's face until they made eye contact, his voice full of sympathy "You know you can't have that, Ry.  
>Staring at it is only going to make you want it more."<p>

He softly patted Ryan's cheek before standing, taking the glass to the small sink in the corner of the room, and emptying the contents. Then threw the cup away. "Now, it won't be tempting us.", grinning at his thirsty friend.

Ryan grinned back. "I don't know if that is going to help, Brad. I wish they would just get this over with"

Brad could feel Ryan's anxiety, not to mention thirst as he had only stole sips of through the night when his friend was asleep. He wouldn't drink or eat in front of him. So he was almost as thirsty as Ryan, the different being that he could walk out of the room and drink all he wanted, though he thought *I'd have to go go the bathroom first, I'm dying here*.

He swallowed before speaking "It'll go by faster than you think, Ry. Just hang in there. This is unrelated,  
>but I don't think I can put it off much longer, I'm going to have to run... "<p>

Before the rest of the words were out of Brad's mouth, Colin stepped into the room.

"Hey Col, I'm glad you're here. I was just about to run out on Ryan here. It was going to come down to that or pee in my pants".

The other two men laughed at Brad's little "gotta go" dance. "Go for it, Brad." Colin patted the younger man on the back, laughing again as he almost ran down the hall on his way to the restroom.

Colin was glad to see Ryan laughing, noting that he didn't seem to be as nervous as he was the night before, but also noting the glazed look in his eyes and realizing he wasn't as nervous because he was still feeling the effect of the drug.

He squeezed his friends' shoulder "How are you feeling, Ryan? Ready to do this and get it over with?"

Ryan nodded. "I am ready as I'm going to get. The more I lay and think, the more I worry, so yes, I am ready to get it over with".

Colin squeezed the shoulder again. "I know Pal, so am I...so am I".

A little over an hour later, after Drew, Wayne, Greg, Chip, and several other friends had taken their turn in Ryan's room, the nurses had come in and begun to prep him for surgery.

They were allowed to walk alongside Ryan's bedside as he was rolled into the surgery area, being told they could no farther at a certain point. Colin stood beside his best friend, hands gently cupping Ryan's face.  
>"You're going to be okay, Ry. We'll be right out here waiting for you. It's going to be alright." He watched as Ryan nodded, tears welling up in the green eyes, dulled by all the medication meant to calm him, though the fear was still full evident in them. Colin felt the tears threatening to flow from his own eyes and stepped back, giving his friends' shoulder one last squeeze.<p>

Colin stood back and watched as his other friends tried to encourage and reassure Ryan even as they were fighting their own worry and fear.

Minutes later, they were led to a new waiting room. They spread out, some pacing, some flipping aimlessly through old magazines. Brad managed to fall asleep on the couch in the corner of the room. Drew raided the snack and soda machine, killing time by shoving potato chips into his mouth. Colin walked outside for a short time to smoke, Greg and Chip deciding to follow him. The fresh air seemed to help a little.

About five hours later, and what seemed like days, the Doctor, still in scrubs, walked into the waiting room and asked everyone with Ryan to follow him into another smaller room designed for privacy.

After everyone was in and settled, the Doctor began to speak.

"Ryan is stable and in recovery, he will be there for at least an hour before being moved. You will be able to see him then. There was more damage to his spine than I originally thought. I still believe he will eventually regain use of his lower limbs and torso. It may take longer and will take more work, because the damage was more severe, but I fully expect he will walk again. He will be in a great deal of pain for some time, you're going to have to prepare yourself for that. His legs will need to be stretched and flexed several times a day,  
>it's going to hurt not only his legs, but his back. He's probably going to beg you to stop, but it's something that has to be done if he is going to walk again. His upper spine was also affected more than I originally thought,<br>this will affect the usage of his arms. "He spoke quickly, noticing the panic cross all sets of eyes in the room".

"He'll be able to use them. He will just be slow and awkward at first. It is something he'll almost have to relearn."

As you know, we placed a catheter again before taking him into this surgery. It's going to be there for quite some time. I had noticed yesterday afternoon that his urine output has been going down and we can't let that happen. I suspect this was due to the spinal fracture and complications there and if so the catheter will correct the problem, but you also know there were several injuries to his internal organs, including his kidneys. If his urine output does not increase with the catheter we will have to run tests on his kidneys and go from there."

The Dr spoke again before anyone was able to say anything, as he saw the faces around his fall.

"I know he's not going to like it. It's just something that cannot be helped at this time. I don't intend for this to be permanent. If it is caused by the spinal fracture, it's just something that will improve as his spine improves."

Drew spoke from his standing position by the door. "And if it's his kidneys?".

The Dr looked Drew in the eye before softly responding. "It if is his kidneys, it may require another surgery,  
>or may require medication. That is not something I can answer at this point."<p>

Drew nodded. "Okay, okay,that's not something that we can't overcome, even if he has to have the damn thing the rest of his life."

He watched as the men around him nodded their affirmative.

"And his arm?", Chip looked up from the corner of the room.

"All went well with the break. We applied a plate and he should regain use of it within the next couple of months.

We'll talk again later and if you have any questions feel free to ask for me and I will be more than happy to discuss anything with you."

With that he stood shaking hands with each man in the room. "Just stick with him gentlemen, don't give up and don't let him give up, with friends like you,  
>Mr. Stiles will pull through this and one day walk out on that stage again like nothing ever happened."<p>

He smiled at the "Thank You's" that came his way and walked out the room and down the hall, leaving the others in the room with their thoughts.

They slowly filed out of the room, back into the larger waiting room. There they waited until someone came and told them they could see Ryan. 


	7. Chapter 7

After what seemed like hours of more waiting a nurse walked into the waiting room. She announced that Ryan was out of recovery and back in ICU. He was still sleeping and would be for another couple of hours, so she suggested that the guys go grab a bite to eat and he would probably be awake when they returned. This was taken in agreement, though Colin was slightly reluctant.

"You've gotta eat, Col. He's asleep and he's okay. We won't be long". Greg's stomach had been growling in hunger for a couple of hours now. Chips and candy wasn't doing the trick.

Colin finally agreed and the group decided to hit up the hospital cafe, too tired to venture any further at the moment.

After eating they made their way back to the ICU waiting room and unanamiously agreed that Colin would go in first, and Greg was chosen to go in with him, they would pair up from there.

Colin could hear his friends' pain filled whimpers before they reached the entry to the small cubicle shaped room.  
>He quickened his pace, wanting to get to Ryan's side and at the same time not wanting to watch him go through this pain.<p>

Walking through the entry, both men could immediately see the agony in Ryan's vivid green eyes. Two nurses were working with him, slightly josting his body as they changed bandages on his tender back. Colin reached the bed first, taking Ryan's long fingers into his own. "Hold on, buddy. I know it hurts". He glanced to Greg who had went to the foot of the bed, gently rubbing the long leg and looking out the window, away from the pain filled scene. Colin redirected his gaze to one of the nurses, pleading with his eyes to tell him they were almost finished. She looked back at him, eyes full of compassion and sympathy. Her voice was soft and almost motherly. "We're almost finished, we just had to change the bandages."

Colin nodded his understanding and gave the nurse a small, shaky smile.

"You hear that, Ry? They're almost done, then you can rest."

Ryan managed a nod and his eyes bore into Colin's. "It hurts so bad, Colin. Can't they give me something?".

Colin again looked at the nurse for an answer. She and the other nurse on duty situated Ryan on his back ,  
>moving him as gently as they could, but still emitting from him a weak cry of pain. This time Greg tore his gaze from the world outside the window and over to Ryan. "They're done man, it's okay, it okay.".<p>

After settling Ryan and sending the other nurse for water and ice, the nurse looked over at the two men and then down at her patient. "I'm sorry, Ryan. I know it hurts when we have to change the bandages but it's not something we can help. For the first two or three days we'll probably have to do this two to three times a day, depending on the amount of leakage and blood."

She picked up the small device on Ryan's bedside table and looked again to Colin and Greg. "Since Mr. Stiles can't do this for himself yet, it will be up to whoever is in the room with him. This is morphine. Press this button and it will release into Ryan's IV. It's set where he cannot be overdosed, so that is not a concern. Please show it to your other friends and visitors.". She held it out where both men could see it and pushed the contraption in, shooting a dose of pain medication to Ryan.

Greg spoke again, still unconciously rubbing his hand up and down Ryan's lower leg. "Do we just push it once?"

"It will only take once, regardless of how many times you push.".

"Okay, Thank You". he managed a smile.

She returned the smile. "It's strong as I'm sure you know" She smiled again, looking at Ryan whose eyes were already starting to glaze over. "And as you can tell.".

Colin smiled as well, reaching down to touch Ryan's shoulder. "That better, pal". Ryan awarded with a slightly loopy grin and nodded slowly.

They all chuckled softly. The kindly nurse left, gently running her hand over Ryan's face before leaving. Colin decided then that he liked this motherly like lady and hoped she was one of Ryan's regular nurses. Seconds later, the other, younger nurse, returned carrying a small plastic pitcher of water and cup of ice. She set them down on the table, smiled shyly and walked out.

Colin looked to Greg. "I guess we better give the other guys their turn.".

Greg agreed but first went over to Ryan "You thirsty, Ry?"

The drug was well into his system by now and Ryan only looked over at Greg in confusion, struggling to focus.  
>So instead of asking again, Greg found a paper cup, poured some water into it, added a straw and offered it to his friend, When the straw brushed his lips, Ryan immediately began to take the water in.<p>

"That's enough". Colin and Greg both seemed to speak at the same time. Greg put the cup back on the table,they both gave Ryan one more pat on the shoulder and told him they'd be back later, then they walked back into the waiting room to give someone else a turn.

"Okay, who is next?". Drew jumped at Greg's voice, turning from the window in one sudden jerk.

"Chip and I decided to go next. So, how is he, before we go in?"

Greg had already went into the restroom so Colin answered Drew's question. "When we walked in they were in the middle of changing his bandages and he was in a great deal of pain. It was almost too much to stand by and watch, but one of the nurses said they'd have to change bandages two to three times a day for the first few days."

Drew sighed, shaking his head sadly. "I hate he has to go through this, but the Dr told us to be ready for the pain. We just have to get through it together, man.".

Colin ran his hand through his balding hair, nodding as he spoke. "They've got Morphine in his drip, it's attached to a button. Someone has to push the button when he needs the medicine. It's fixed so we can't overdose him.  
>The nurse just gave him a dose before we came out, he's pretty well out of it right now and I don't know how he will respond to you guys, but I think it helped the pain."<p>

"Okay, I just want to see him and let him know I'm here and I'm sure Chip feels the same. He ran to the soda machine but should be back in a second."  
>Just at that moment, Chip, Brad, and Wayne came down the hall into the waiting room, carrying an armload of sodas.<p>

Drew looked over at Chip. "Ready, man?"

"Yup, let's go". He glanced at his other two friends. "We won't be long then you guys can go in"

They both agreed and Chip and Drew went into the room, only to return less than ten minutes later.

"He's out for the count, but at least he seems to be resting peacefully". Drew reported to the other guys.

It was decided they should go to the hotel and rest, leaving one person with Ryan for the first shift of the day.

Drew agreed to stay, insisting he wasn't that tired. "I went to bed early last night, I'm good for a few hours."

They said their goodbyes and Drew went to set next to his sleeping friend.

Drew had managed to drift off into an uncomfortable sleep and was awoken by Ryan.

"Drew? Drew! Hey Drew! Please.". Drew could hear Ryan talking to him, but for a moment he thought he was dreaming. Then it suddenly dawned on him that his friend was really pleading for him to wake up, his voice still soft and weak, words somewhat slurred and spoken slowly. Drew jumped out of the chair, coming to full wakefulness, and was at Ryan's side in seconds.

"I'm sorry, man. I guess I drifted off there. You alright?"

"It's okay." His voice got even softer and his eyes drifted away from Drew's gaze. "I just have to use the restroom"

Drew watched as Ryan's still slightly glazed eyes searched for the bedpan that was so often used before the previous surgery. He realized that the morphine in his friend's system was keeping him from noticing the catheter was still in place. Drew knew this was going to drop Ryan's positive attitude and outlook, but there was nothing to do but tell him the truth. He wondered if Ryan was even going to be lucid enough to remember their conversation or to truelly understand what he was about to tell him. *at least he hasn't asked about his kids yet*, Drew thought sadly, before reaching to turn Ryan's until they were making eye contact.

"You can't use the bedpan, Ryan. You don't need to, you have a catheter."

Confusion masked the expressive face, pain also starting to again show in Ryan's eyes and forehead.  
>"Why do I still have the catheter?"<p>

"The Dr said you need it for now, Ry. Your kidneys weren't working right. I can't tell you the details because I don't understand them. He said it may correct itself with the back surgery, or if it was caused by the kidney damage, they may have to do surgery again and try to fix this.". He watched as Ryan took in the prospect of another surgery, placing a hand on each of the thin shoulders.

"What if they can't?"

Drew sighed, looked out the window and then back at his friend, who was looking at him with large, moist eyes that had suddenly became remarkably lucid.

"Then we go somewhere else, until we find someone that can. If it turns out that we can't fix it, it's just something that will have to be handled. We have to stay optimistic, the Dr is still saying that with time and work you will be able to walk again, the back surgery went well. More important than anything, you're here man, we came close to loosing you. Hell, if I needed to, I would carry your skinny ass around, catheter and all."

This got a small grin out of Ryan. Drew grinned back, his grin widening as a cafe worker came in carrying two trays.

"It's good to see you, I was getting hungry" Drew directed his grin towards the young man branding the trays.

He smiled back, settled the trays onto the table and walked out.

"Thanks, pal" Drew spoke to the retreating form. Glancing over at Ryan, he removed the lid from one of the plastic plates. "Well, let's see what we have here. Burger and fries, good deal and they don't look half bad. Let's just hope they taste as good as they look, huh?"

"I'm not really hungry, Drew. You can have mine too, if you want it, or bring it to the room for later."

Drew let out another small sigh as he looked down at his constantly thinning friend. He spoke out of frustration and worry. "You're going to eat some of this, Ry, even if I have to force feed you."  
>The pitiful look crossing Ryan's face caused him to soften his voice and try another tactic. "I know you probably don't feel like eating, but just eat a little. Just try, okay? You can't get your strength up if you don't eat."<p>

He watched Ryan's face for a moment before picking up a fry and bringing it towards his friend's mouth.  
>Ryan turned his head "I'm sorry Drew, It's not that I'm not hungry, I think I actually am. But, just looking at it makes me sick. I'm scared if I eat, I'll throw up and I know that will hurt like hell."<p>

Drew withdrew the fry, placing it back in the plate. "Okay, man. I understand. You still have to try and eat though,  
>Ry. What if I ask them to bring in some soup, think you can handle the broth from it?"<p>

Ryan face brightened if only a tad. "I will try."

Less than ten minutes later Drew fed Ryan a fair amount of the broth from a bowl of chicken noodle soup.  
>Drew felt a little better, it wasn't a feast, but it was a start.<p>

He had noticed Ryan becoming increasingly uncomfortable in the past 30 minutes and was not surprised when Ryan asked him if he could push the button that would give him a needed dose of pain killer. "I hate to ask Drew and I hate what it does to me, but I don't think I can take the pain anymore. I went as long as I could."

Drew uncharacteristically ran a hand through Ryan's dark blond hair. "You shouldn't do that, Ryan. Don't wait until you can't handle the pain, let whoever is with you know sooner. I know it puts you out and probably makes you feel sick afterword, but for the time being, you need it. You're body needs the rest, so it can began to heal."

He removed his hand from Ryan's head and pushed the button that would give his friend almost instant relief,  
>though at the same time send him into a drugged stupor and keep him there for hours.<p>

"Just relax, Ry. Take a nap, someone will be here when you wake up."  
>He set a while longer and watched as Ryan's eye became glassy and his head lolled to the side of pillow. Drew stood beside his friend, trying to make him as comfortable as possible, straightening the pillow and then putting the bed rails up. Then he walked out into the waiting room to call someone to come set with Ry. He was dead on his feet.<p>


	8. Chapter 8

NOTE: I noticed that I made a mistake when posting Chapter 7 and 8, so I just deleted and relisted chapters 7-12. Feedback is always welcome.:)  
>*************************************<p>Wayne spent the night in Ryan's room and Colin took his place the next morning.<p>

By this time, Ryan was more alert and hadn't had a dose of pain medication for a longer period of time.

Colin could see he was thinking about something, something that was obviously worrying him.

"What's wrong, Ry?"

Ryan turned his head to meet Colin's worried gaze.

"Pat's not going to let the kids visit, is she?"

Colin stood and walked slowly to Ryan's side, considering how he should answer as he went. He finally decided against Drew and Brad's suggestion. He couldn't lie to his best friend, even if caused his more pain.

"No, Ryan, she isn't." He spoke as gently and calmly as he could, not wanting to let his anger show right now.

Ryan stared back at him for a moment before speaking again. "Why? Did she give a reason? I'll buy the tickets.  
>Did you guys tell her that? I just want to see them, I miss my kids."<p>

Colin could feel his heart breaking and his anger flaring all at once, but he still tried to keep the anger out of his voice, for Ryan's sake.

"I know you do, Ry, and we are trying. We won't give up.". He thought his options over one more time before speaking again, and he once more thought the truth was the best way to go. He set on the edge of Ryan's bed and met his friend's green gaze. "As for her reason. We were going to tell you the kids were away at camp or something,  
>to keep from causing you anymore pain than you are already in. But, I've decided against that. You're my best friend and I can't lie to you. Pat refuses to send the kids because she says she doesn't want them to see you in the hospital. I know you won't believe that and no one else does either, it's just an excuse. It's just vengeance,<br>Ry. Drew offered to pay for the plane tickets, so we know that isn't the reason, either."

He stopped talking to let his words register with Ryan, who nodded sadly, obviously not surprised by this news.

"You're right, Col. She's out for revenge and I guess he decided to use our kids to get it. But, I don't think she can do this, can she? They're my kids. She can't keep me from seeing them".

Colin nodded his affirmation, touching Ryan's shoulder. "Drew's already looking for a lawyer and he told Pat as much. He really let her have it. You'll see your kids. It may be a while, but she can't keep them from you like this."

"Thanks for not lying to me, Colin. I appreciate you deciding against it, though I know the intentions were good." Ryan smiled his thanks.

One week later Ryan was moved out of ICU into another part of the hospital.

The day he was moved, a new Dr came in.

"We've looked at the tests on your kidneys and it does look like kidney damage is the cause of your trouble.  
>It's not severe and we have decided to let it resolve itself. It may take a while and you will have to get used to the Catheter, but in time, you should be able to go without it.". He smiled down at his new patient.<p>

Ryan responded with a shaky smile of his own, happy to hear he wouldn't need another operation, but still uneasy and embarassed that he would be stuck with the catheter for an unknown amount of time.

"I guess that I will take this as good news. I would shake your hand, but...". He grinned up at the Dr who grinned back and patted Ryan's shoulder.

"I will see you later, Mr. Stiles. Keep your chin and keep smiling."

A few hours later, while Greg was force feeding his charge hospital meatloaf, A physical therapist walked in the room. She was an older lady, but Greg could immediately tell that she did not carry the same sweet personality that their favorite nurse in ICU did. Though Ryan was no where near ready to began any sort of actual therapy, it was imperitive that his legs be moved and stretched daily. His friends would be able to do this, but the physical therapist was sent in to show them how it should be done.

Without knocking, she walked into the room and up to the bed, disturbing Greg's attempt to get food into his friend.

"Excuse me, is this the room of Mr. Ryan Stiles"?".

Her presence was not noticed by either man and Greg almost spilled the whole plate of food onto Ryan. He spun around on reflex.

"You scared the hell out of me!" he grinned up at the older lady, noticing her dark eyes showed no sign of amusement.

"I'm sorry, but I have a full load today." She spoke in a monotone as she looked around the room. "My notes say I am instructing a small group of people. Where are the others?" The monotone was beginning to be overrun by a hint of aggravation.

Greg looked at her in wonder "Nobody told us anyone was coming. I'm the only one here right now. I could call them,  
>but it will take a little while for them to get here. Is this not something you could show me and I, in turn,<br>could show them."

The lady frowned, lines in her forehead creasing, but she finally agreed. "Okay, this shouldn't be that big of a deal. Let's do this."

Greg glanced over at Ryan, noticing the fear in his eyes as the woman got closer to the foot of the bed. She never bothered to introduce herself or even say hello to him, much less explain to him what she was about to do, what sort of pain she was about to inflict on him. He couldn't help but speak up for his friend.

"Excuse me, ma'm?"

She turned to look at him, annoyance showing in those dark eyes. "Yes?"

"Well, I just wanted to ask, before we procceed, will this be painful for Ryan? I know it is necassary, but I think he should at least have the chance to be prepared.".

The woman looked at him and then over at Ryan, lying helpless in the bed, fear still evident in his face. He just gazed back at her, his eyes wide in apprehension about what was about to be done to him.

The lady's hard face showed no sympathy, only increasing annoyance at the time that was going by.

"Look, I know who you are and I know who he is. I don't care if you are rich, I'm not going to give you extra time or special treatment. I have a lot of people to go through today and I intend to get home before dark. You just pay attention."

Greg started to snap back, unable to believe how rude and crude this woman was being, but instead he bit his tongue, deciding to just watch what to do and get her out of the room as quickly as possible.

So he watched as she removed the sheet and blanket covering Ryan. Greg immediately went and shut the door to the room. He again held his words at the disrespect.

Ryan still had bandages on his legs and a cast around one foot, so it took a minute for the therapist to find a spot in which to wrap her large, pudgy hands. When she did, she looked toward Greg.

"It's simple. You just have to keep the muscle tone in his legs and keep them flexible. Work them about two to three times a day".

Abruptly and without warning, she swiftly lifted Ryan's right leg straight into the air, causing the prone man's ravaged spine to lift slightly from the bed. Ryan let out a weak scream of pain, then whimpered breathlessly when the leg went back to the bed.

Greg watched in horror and shock, pushing the woman back when she released his friend.

"Are you nuts?". It would have came out as a full fledged scream had he not been in a hospital.


	9. Chapter 9

"Get out". Greg's voice was low and filled with rage.

The woman snarled her nose in protest but walked stiffly out the door without a word.

Greg shut the door behind her and then walked back to the bed that held his still softly whimpering friend.

Ryan's head was slowly moving back and forth on the pillow.

"Ryan? You okay, pal?". Getting no response, Greg gently grasped his friend's chin and turned Ryan to face him.

"Look at me, Ry." He waited as pain filled eyes eventually met his own. He noted the thin chest heaving and Ryan's attempt to even his breathing.

"Do you need me to get someone to look at you?"

Greg wiped away the tears of pain while waiting for an answer.

Slowly Ryan calmed, his breathing slowing to a more normal pace.

He finally shook his head no. "I'm okay. That just hurt so damn bad and I wasn't ready for it.".

Greg couldn't believe that Ryan looked embarassed, pale cheeks blushing as he turned his face toward the pillow.

Greg sighed, again grasping his friend's chin and turning his head until eye contact was made.

"You have no reason to be ashamed or embarassed, Ry. That bitch was rude and crazy as a loon. It hurt me just watching her jerk your leg up like that, I can only imagine what it must have felt like. I don't have any idea that was the proper procedure. I know we're going to have to keep your legs moving and stretched, but surely it doesn't have to be done so roughly. She could have damaged your back like that, and I still think I'm going to have someone come in and check just to be sure she didn't."

"I think it's okay, Greg. But, if you think it's best, then go ahead, I don't mind. Let's not get her in trouble though. We don't know what she's going through, man."

Again Greg looked at his friend in awe. "She almost jerked your leg out of the socket, Ryan. Regardless of what someone is going through, it doesn't give them an excuse to cause people unneccasary pain like that. But okay, man,  
>I'll just tell them you were in a lot of pain and that she was just a little rough. I really think you need to be checked out."<p>

Ryan nodded and closed his eyes. "Thanks, Greg".

Greg touched Ryan's exposed fingers "AND we are going to request another therapist, someone with a little less anger."

Ryan nodded again, eyes still closed. "I won't argue with that".

Drew walked in the room an hour later to find Ryan surrounded by nurses and his doctor, while Greg stood in the corner with a frown on his face, watching Ryan's face contort in pain. Ryan lay on his side with the nurses holding him steady, while the Dr ran his skilled hand down Ryan's back, bare of bandaging.  
>He was being as gentle as possible, but was applying a fair amount of pressure. All of this caused Ryan to hiss in pain, eyes again shedding tears of agony.<p>

Greg saw Drew come in, confusion and worry masking his face. "We'll be right back, Ry." he didn't know if Ryan registered his words at the moment, but he wanted him to know they wouldn't be far away. He then walked to Drew and led him into the hall.

"He's okay, Drew." He waited while Drew visibly relaxed, then he continued. "Earlier we had a visit from the physical therapist from hell. You should have been here, she was an old bitch, treating Ryan like a dog because he was on tv, she never said hello to him, much less explained to him that she was about to put him through pysical hell. When I said something to her about it, she said that she didn't care how rich we were, she was in a hurry, then she went right on with what she was doing. She just grabbed his leg and basically jerked it straight up, actually lifting his back off the bed a little. I thought he was going to pass out. That's what they are doing now, I requested that he be looked over and the Doctor agreed. They've been in there about 10 minutes. It's causing Ryan more pain, but I think it's something that needs to be done."

Drew was listening intently, looking towards Ryan's door when Greg finished talking, frustration and anger shining in his eyes. "Did you give them the woman's name or description? Her ass needs to be nailed for this."

Greg shook his head. "Ryan asked me not to get her into trouble, he said we don't know what she's going through or why she acted the way she did. So, I just told them that she was rough with him, described how she lifted his leg, and that he was in a lot of pain. Had it been up to me, I would have told them she was a satanic bitch and she didn't need to be working with goldfish, much less people that were already suffering."

Drew put his hand on Greg's shoulder, seeing how upset this incident had made him. "I know, Greg, but you were right in respecting Ryan's wishes." He stopped to think for a moment, then shook his head. "That's Ryan for you.". Drew mumbled the last sentence, a small smile creeping onto his troubled and tired face.

Greg smiled his agreement. "Yep". He shook his head in wonder, then put his hand on Drew's shoulder and they walked back into the room.

Ryan was lying on his back again, eyes closed tight, a grimace still on his face which was damp with a mixture of sweat and tears. The nurses were talking softly to him, trying to soothe him, telling him he could relax now. They noticed Greg and Drew enter and two of them smiled sadly,  
>gently stroked Ryan's shoulder and walked out. One nurse remained, her kindly face filled with compassion and sympathy, she continued to wash Ryan's face with a damp cloth, still talking to him in a soft encouraging voice. The Doctor stood to the side, writing busily in his chart.<p>

Drew went towards Ryan, putting a hand to his friend's damp hair and smiling at the nurse. "Thank you for being so kind".

She looked up at him, smiling sadly. "I wouldn't treat any other way, we've put him through torture and he always does his best to work with us. You're a sweetheart aren't you, Ryan?". Her voice was motherly, her deep brown eyes loving. She again ran the cloth over Ryan's still pain filled face, his eyes still clinched tightly shut.  
>"Are you going to open those big green eyes and look at me?". She waited a moment, watching Ryan's face before she spoke again, her voice even softer and kinder than before. "It's okay, son. You just lay there and relax. It's all over for now.". She handed the cloth to Drew with a smile, then ran the back of one small wrinkled hand across Ryan's cheek.<p>

Drew took the cloth, thanking her once more, with a smile of gratitude, and took over bathing Ryan's face with the cool rag, hoping to help ease the pain and tension. "It's okay now, Ry. Calm down".  
>Ryan's face slowly began to relax as he fell into what Drew knew was a drug induced sleep. He set the cloth down, looking over to Greg and the Dr.<p>

Meanwhile Greg stood and waited as the Dr finished writing notes in his file.

When he stopped writing, he looked at Greg, speaking quietly. "I don't think any damage was done, though I can assure you the pain it caused Mr. Stiles was undoubtly intense and there was a signicant chance that she could have caused damage. We were just fortunate in that aspect. We'll keep a close eye on him and if this level of pain doesn't subside in a few days we will run tests." He stopped talking for a second, then spoke again. "Though, I am sorry to say, a portion of the pain he is experiencing right now was caused by us, so he took a double whammy today. I have given him a stronger dose of morphine, so he should be out for three to four hours.".

Drew has reached Greg's side by that point and spoke up. "Can you please make sure we get a new therapist?"

Greg nodded as the Dr put up a hand. "Do not worry about that, I will definitely send in a new therapist. I would also love for you to give me this lady's name so that we can deal with her mistreatment of patients."

Greg shook his head. "I'm sorry. Ryan asked me not to get her into trouble. I saw her name tag, and if the situation were different, I'd probably go against his wishes and give you the information. But, I feel we have to give him some type of control over his life. I told him I wouldn't do this and I just can't lie to him. He said we don't know what kind of trouble she is dealing with in her life, I personally feel no amount of personal trouble should cause you to hurt someone like that, but I can also see his point of view. Not to mention, this is typical Ryan. He can have a temper, but he also has a heart of gold and is always thinking of other people."

The Doctor looked towards Ryan's sleeping figure, admiration in his eyes. "I understand and you have to respect a person who will defend those who cause him so much pain. But when he is awake and the pain has subsided a bit,  
>maybe you can convince him by explaining that this woman will probably treat other patients the same way."<p>

Greg and Drew both nodded, Drew speaking. "That may do the trick".

The Dr shook the hands of both men, patting his unresponsive patient on a sheet covered foot. "If you feel there is any decline in his condition, and if the pain doesn't subside within three days, tell the nurses to contact me immediately. I will alert them at the desk as well. Though, you do understand that he is going to be in pain,  
>there is no getting around that, he will hurt and it isn't going to be something that is just going to go away. It's going to be long term. But, you are aware of the intensity of the pain he was in before this incident."<p>

Both men again nodded their understanding, giving their thanks as the Doctor walked out of the room.

Several hours later Greg set in the waiting room, knowing that Colin would be showing up soon.  
>They would have to explain what happened and he knew that Colin would not take the news well.<p>

Shortly after the Dr left, they took time to grab a bite to eat, hurrying back just in case Ryan woke sooner.  
>Since then, they had been setting and waiting.<p>

Ryan had yet to show signs of waking up, but they knew he would be coming around soon, so the two men took turns setting in the room with him. Drew was there now, while Greg set and waited to intercept Colin as he made his way to Ryan's side. He was idly thinking he'd like to switch places with Drew when he saw Colin heading down the hall to Ryan's room.

"Col! Colin". The other man turned at Greg's voice, walking back towards him.

"Hey Greg, sorry I'm late."

"No problem, man. Can you come in here a minute, we need to talk before you go to the room". Greg saw the panic flash through Colin's face and quickly spoke again. "No,no, he's alright, Col".

He waited while Colin calmed himself before leading him into the waiting room and speaking again.

"We did have a problem and Ry is in a great deal more pain right now, but he was checked out and the Dr doesn't see any damage".

He then explained the situation in detail and Colin's reaction was as he predicted.

Colin's voice was low and full of anger, deep eyes glaring into Greg's. "And this woman still has a job? And what were you doing, Greg, while she was torturing him? Did you stand by and watch, waiting for him to somehow defend himself?"

Greg glared back, not breaking eye contact, on the verge of losing his own temper. "Yes, per Ryan's request. I made him a promise and I won't break it, Col. You change his mind, and I will give her name to anyone that asks for it."..Voice rising in pitch he went on to the next part of the question. "What did you want me to do, Colin? She was the therapist,  
>how was I to know she was going to do him that? I stopped her as soon as I could. You know I would never stand by and watch someone hurt him.".<p>

Colin took a deep breath, eyes softening, and when he spoke again his voice had also softened. "I'm sorry, Greg,  
>you're right. I just lost my cool there for a minute.". He ran a shaky hand over his face and then offered it to Greg who accepted and shook it. Colin spoke again. "I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have jumped on you like that,<br>this is just really getting to me. I'd like to find the bastards who did this to him and beat them into oblivion".

"I understand, Col. Forget about it. And if you find those guys, you let me know and I'll be there to help. Have you heard anything from the police about the pricks?"

Looking at him sadly, Colin shook his head. "I called them last night, and they don't even have any suspects. I guess that's really not what we need to be worrying about right now. We have to get Ryan on the right track and out of here first, then I swear they will be behind bars one way or the other. I'll find them if it's the last thing I do."

Greg gave his back a reassuring pat. "You won't be alone in that. We'll find them Col and they'll pay. You are right though, right now let's focus on Ryan."


	10. Chapter 10

Colin left Greg in the waiting room and made his way to Ryan's side.

The door was cracked open and Drew was there, setting by Ryan's bed, and both men were alseep. Colin could see the exhaustion in the other man's face, even in his sleep. He stood a moment, taking in the scene, Ryan's sleeping features were relaxed and peaceful at the moment, though Greg had already told him that Ry had been heavily medicated after the examination, Colin knew this was the reason for his peaceful appearance. Drew had pulled a chair close to his sleeping friend, one smallish hand gently grasping the long fingers extending from Ryan's cast. Drew's head lay on the edge of Ryan's bed in what Colin imagined was a very uncomfortable position, as he was almost doubled over.

Colin sighed, walking quietly into the room and laying a hand on Drew's slumped shoulder, shaking him gently.

"Drew...Drew"

He waited until the shorter man moaned and picked his head up from the uncomfortable resting place, hands immediately going to his back.

"Hey, Col, I guess I fell asleep. I was just going to rest my eyes a minute. Guess it didn't work out like that, huh?". Drew gave Colin a small grin.

"I just woke you up because you looked incredibly uncomfortable." Colin watched as Drew rubbed his aching back again. "Why don't you go get some rest, stop by and get Greg, he looks like he could use some sleep as well. I'm pretty well rested and can set with him for a while".

Drew stood slowly, stretching tired muscles. "Okay, thanks mine. Did Greg tell you what happened?"

Colin nodded "Yea, I lost it for a minute and took it on Greg when he told me. I didn't mean to do that.  
>I apologized to him, but let him know again that I'm sorry, will you, man?".<p>

Drew put a hand on his friend's back "He know you didn't mean anything by it, Col. We're all stressed out right now. We're going to loose our tempers every so often".

Colin nodded thoughtfully, his gaze falling to Ryan, relaxing a little as he watched the steady rise and fall of the thin chest. Drew followed his gaze to the sleeping form and then looked up at Colin. "He was giving a heavy dose of pain meds, but according to the Dr's estimates, he should be waking up soon.". He looked back down at Ryan with compassion in his eyes "He was really hurting, man. Watching him go through that tore me up. I hope he's not feeling it as much when he wakes up.".

Colin's gaze never left Ryan, but Drew noticed the small nod and saw the pained expression in his friend's face.

Drew again placed his hand on Colin's back, giving it a gentle pat, then went to Ryan's side, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. He told Colin he would be back later that night before walking out the door to find Greg.

Colin took up Drew's spot in the chair, idly switching channels on the small tv than hung on the wall, periodically glancing down at Ryan's still form. He touched him frequently, ran a hand through his hair, gently massaged his shoulders, ran his knuckles down his friend's pale cheeks, anything to let him know he wasn't alone, even in his sleep. Less than 20 minutes later, Colin looked down and was met by a set of confused green eyes.

"Hey, Ry." he smiled down.

Ryan looked up at him, confusion slowly leaving his eyes and being replaced by a small, sad, smile.

"Hi, Col. How long have I been out?"

"From what Drew and Greg tell me, about 4 and a half hours. Are you feeling better? How is the pain?"

Ryan seemed to think the question over before answering. "It's not nearly as bad as it was earlier". Colin looked at his friend uncertainly, noticing the pinched look on Ryan's thin face.

"Are you sure? There's no need for you to be in pain, Ry. If you are hurting you need to tell me."

"I don't want to sleep anymore, Col. It hurts, but it's getting better. I just want to stay awake for a while."

Colin listened to the pleading tone in Ryan's voice. He smiled down at him. "Okay, Ryan. I understand, but let me know if it gets worse, okay?"

Ryan nodded. "So what's on tv?"

A week later while Wayne was setting with Ryan, he answered a gentle knock on Ryan's room door.

He was met by a kind faced man in perhaps his early 60's.

"I'm looking for Ryan Stiles, do I have the right room? I'm the new physical therapist."

Wayne smiled, gesturing for the man to enter. "Yes, sir. Come on in."

The man smiled, extending his hand to Wayne. "Darin Abernathy". Wayne took the man's hand, giving it a firm shake.

"My name is Wayne Brady, it's nice to meet you". He walked the man to the bedside where Ryan was watching with curiousity.

"Ryan, this is Mr Abernathy. He's going to be your physical therapist."

Mr Abernathy walked over the bed, gazing down at his new charge with a reassuring smile. "Hi, Ryan. You both can just call me Darin. We're all friends here." He gave his hand a pat, noticing the slight sign of apprehension in Ryan's eyes.

Ryan gave the new therapist a shaky smile, but he was a little nervous. His last experience with a physical therpaist caused him pure agony.

Darin could see that Ryan was not relaxing and tried to reassure his obviously frightened patient. "It's okay,  
>Ryan. I heard about your last encounter with a physical therapist and I can promise you that the same thing won't happen with me. I know you are nervous and you have every right to be, but try to relax. What the last therapist did to you was unethical and was not in any way the correct method. I can't promise that our time together won't include some pain, because it probably will. But, I do promise that I won't hurt you like she did and I promise I will tell you what I'm going to do before I do it. Okay?<br>And hey, if I don't follow through on my word, Wayne here can kick my ass."

Darin felt a little better, seeing some of the fear leave the green eyes that gazed up at him, a grin forming on the thin face. He was also happy to see a grin come across the face of Wayne, who had been standing at the foot of the bed, standing watch over his friend. Darin had no doubt that he would jump to his friend's defense if he felt it was needed.

"Are we good?". He looked from one man to the other, waiting for the okay to go ahead.

Wayne nodded, looking towards Ryan. "You okay, Ry? Ready to go?"

Ryan swallowed then gave a weak nod, looking toward s Darin. "Are you going to bend my leg up?"

Darin sighed sadly, noting how much the last encounter affected his new charge. "Not like she did, Ryan.  
>We're going to do this slowly, and one by one, starting with Wayne, I'm going to teach your friends to work your legs too, so we can work on your muscle tone on a regular basis. Otherwise your limbs will become more and more stiff and weak. I'll be back in twice a week.<br>I'm going to slowly and gently bend your leg, but I'm not just going to grab your leg and pull it up, okay? That's not how it's supposed to work. There will be some pain, sadly we can't get around that, but it won't be like before."

Wayne watched from his spot at the foot of the bed, already deciding that he liked Darin a great deal. He was patient, kind, and honest with Ryan.

Ryan looked at him with a tint of trust in his eyes and then looked towards Wayne who moved to stand by his friend's side. "It's okay, Ry. We can get through this, pal. We don't have a choice, so let's do it. What do you say? I'm right here beside you, buddy. And like he said, if he does anything he's not supposed to, his ass is grass". He grinned down at his friend, grateful to see the grin returned. "Ready?"

Ryan nodded..."ready".

Darin walked slowly to the foot of the bed while Wayne placed a hand on Ryan's chest to show support and comfort.  
>He could feel his friend's heartbeat quicken in anticipation. "I'm right here, Ry. I'm not going anywhere, it's going to be alright."<p>

Darin stood at the foot of the bed waiting for Ryan to calm a little before speaking. "Ryan?" He waited while Ryan's head turned to meet his gaze, green eyes large and insecure. Darin looked to make sure the door was closed,  
>then he removed the blanket and sheets that covered the tall man. He then gently grasped one socked foot, looking into his patients eyes before speaking again. "I'm going to slowly pick your leg up and bend it upwards. Are you ready? It's going to hurt, buddy, because your limbs have been still so long. But we have to do it.".<p>

Ryan looked at him, set his jaw, and nodded his head. Wayne moved his hand up to Ryan's shoulder, squeezing reassuringly.

Darin gently began to move Ryan's leg, bending the knee. Ryan moaned quietly, pushing his head back against the pillow and shutting his eyes tightly.

Darin looked at his pain filled faced in sympathy, he knew he could only imagine the pain.

"It's okay, Ryan. You can rest a minute" He gently guided the leg back down to the pillow.

"We're going to start out doing the leg bends five at a time, about twice a day. So we have four more to do right now on this leg and then we'll move on to the other one."

Wayne looked at Darin in shock. "He has to go through that 9 more times and THEN go through it all again later today?"

"I'm afraid so. It's something that has to be done, for his own sake. It will get better though, as his limbs become less stiff and the muscle tone begins to restore, the pain will lessen."

Wayne nodded slowly, looking sadly down at his friend's stricken face, eyes open now and begging for them to stop.

Darin knew his next statement would only cause both men more pain, but Ryan's friends had to learn.

"Wayne, come here and I will talk you through it.". He watched as Wayne's eyes widened then narrowed as he seemed to resign himself to the fact that this was something they had to do. He looked down at Ryan, who had already set his jaw for the pain that he knew was coming once again. Wayne opened his mouth to say something but Ryan only nodded, looking at him in understanding. Wayne nodded, touched his friends cheek, and walked to the foot of the bed.

"I'm sorry, Ry." His voice was soft and gentle as he picked up the socked foot.

"Just bend his leg upwords slowly and gently, though you may have to use a little force to bend at the knee". Wayne listened to Darin's instructions and done as he was told. He cringed as he watched Ryan's eyes close once more, a single tear of pain rolling slowly down his left cheek, his head shot back towards the pillow.  
>This time though, he went through the agony in silence.<p>

When he was finished, Darin gave him a soft pat on the back. "Good job. Do you want to go on, or would you like me to take over today?"

Wayne thought a minute, again gazing mournfully at Ryan, trails of tears now fully evident on his face.

"Could you finish today. I know I have to learn to do this and get used to it, but I don't have to learn today, do I?"

Darin shook his head no, again picking up Ryan's foot. "No, I'm going to be coming in twice a day for the next week at least, we will work on it until you are comfortable doing it yourself. We'll also have to set up times that your other friends can be hear to learn as well."

Wayne nodded and quietly said his thanks as he watched Darin again begin to bend Ryan's leg. He went to his friend's side, placing a hand to Ryan's head, which was again arched backwards. "I'm right here, Ry. Just hang on."

Darin finished with the bend and gazed compassionately at Ryan's face. "Ryan?" Watery, pain filled eyes met his own. "Two more times okay, we won't worry about the other leg today. Just two more times with this leg and you can rest. We'll take this as slowly as we need to." He rubbed the foot in his hands as he watched Ryan nodd, relief dancing in the green eyes.

He also saw that same relief feel Wayne's eyes. Darin smiled encouragingly towards the two men as he began to bend Ryan's stiff limb again. "almost done, guys"


	11. Chapter 11

Later that evening Colin came in to relieve Wayne.

Ryan was asleep, so Wayne led Colin into the hall where he explained to him what had happened earlier.

"A new therapist came in, I really like him. He's a really nice guy, patient and personable. He could see Ryan was nervous and talked him through everything he did. Of course, Ryan was still afraid and it still hurt him like hell, but that's just something that can't be helped. We just have to get him through it, and Darin,  
>that's the name of the therapist did help to calm Ryan a little, made it a little easier. He also stopped on one leg when he saw how much pain Ryan was in."<p>

Colin leaned against the pale wall of the hospital, listening with interest to Wayne. "That's good, I'm glad he got someone like that."

Wayne nodded. "He's going to be in later this evening and I will warn you now. He said he's going to teach us all how to work Ryan's limbs. He had me do one bend today. It about killed me to hurt Ryan like that and I told Darin I didn't want to do anymore just yet. He agreed and said we would work on it some more later. But, I know he's going to have you do it next, so be ready, Col. It was really hard for me,  
>I know we're going to have to learn, but the pain on Ryan's face and knowing I'm the one who was causing it was torture, man."<p>

Colin frowned, not looking forward to Darin's visit. He pushed away from the wall and put a hand on Wayne's muscular shoulder. "I am regretting it already, Wayne. But, you're right, it's something we have to learn to do if we're going to help Ryan walk again. Thanks for the warning, at least I will know it's coming."

"No problem, man. I wanted you to be ready. I feel so bad for Ryan, he knows Darin is coming back this evening and it's eating at him. He was so nervous at lunch, I couldn't get anything down him. Maybe you can talk to him, relax him a bit, and get him to eat at dinner."

Colin frowned again, shaking his head and giving a slight sigh. "I'll try. I don't know how much luck I'll have.  
>Getting Ryan to eat is like pulling teeth when he's NOT nervous."<p>

Wayne gave a small grin. "That's ain't no lie. I'll see you later man, goodnight. Tell Ryan bye for me when he wakes up."

Colin nodded and walked into the room.

A few hours later, Ryan was awake when supper trays were brought in.

Colin smiled his appreciation when he was handed two trays, one for Ryan and one for himself.

He sighed inwardly, hoping against hope that whatever was under the lid of the plastic server was something that his friend liked, giving him more of a chance to get Ryan to eat. Pulling the lid back he found a baked chicken breast. *This is possible. He likes chicken*. he thought to himself before looking over at Ryan.

"We have chicken here, Ry. Looks pretty good. It's baked and coated in some sort of sauce.". Colin himself was starved and smelling the food was making him all that much more hungry but first, he was determined to get at least some of the food down Ryan.

Ryan was still nervously anticipating the arrival of the therapist. Colin couldn't really blame him, if he knew someone was going to come cause him pain, he'd be nervous as well. But, he talked to Ryan and thought he had helped to calm his nerves a little.

Colin held the plate of food in Ryan's field of view, watching him hopefully, before putting it back on the table and cutting a small piece of juicy white meat from the piece of chicken and bring it to Ryan's mouth. To his relief,  
>Ryan took the offering without protest, so he quickly cut another piece, getting the same satisfying result.<p>

Ten minutes later half the piece of chicken was gone and there was a small dent in the mound of green beans. Colin brought another piece of chicken to his friend's mouth but Ryan turned his head quickly. "I can't eat anymore, Colin."

Glancing at the amount of food missing from Ryan's plate, not entirely satisfied at what he saw. "Ry, can you take a few more bites for me?". He watched as Ryan thought the request over, noting the apprehension still evident in the green eyes and the slightly ill look that had surfaced on his friend's face. Ryan's brought his eyes to meet Colin's gaze. "I don't think I can, Col. I'm starting to feel sick."

Colin nodded down at his friend, compassion blazing in his soulful eyes. "Okay, Ryan. At least we got a little nourishment down you. That's better than nothing.". He thought another moment then spoke again, giving Ryan's fingers a squeeze "Thanks for trying and not fighting me with this, pal."

Ryan smiled in return and turned his head to gaze out the window. Colin pained at the longing that he saw cross Ryan's face.

He was so hungry before, but seeing his friend hurt killed the majority of his hunger. He slowly took the lid from his own dish and ate his supper with little joy, all the time watching Ryan stare sadly out the window.

A couple of hours later, Colin went to answer the gentle knock at the door. Knowing who it was, he grasped Ryan's shoulder gently before going to answer it. "It's okay, Ry. You'll be okay". His voice was confident and gentle, but that's not the way he felt inside. He thought he was probably nearly as nervous as Ryan, dreading the fact that he was going to have to be the one to cause some of Ryan's pain.

He opened the door to be met with a smiling face and extended hand. "I'm Darin, I assume Wayne has told you about me."

Colin smiled back, taking the hand and introducing himself. "I'm Colin, and yes he has. It's nice to meet you,  
>Wayne spoke highly of you."<p>

Darin walked towards Ryan's bed as he spoke. "That's good to know".

Ryan's gaze had adverted back to the window, not wanting to face reality just yet, but as the therapist approached, touching Ryan's arm softly, he turned his head to meet Darin's kind gaze. "Hi, Ryan. How are you doing.". Colin saw Darin frown sadly when Ryan averted his gaze to the window again. The therapist tried again. "I know you're not glad to see me and I don't blame you, pal. But, we have to do this. I'm sorry, Ryan.".

Breaking his gaze from the outside world, Ryan turned his eyes to meet those of Darin's. "I know you have to do it and it's not your fault. I'm ready. Let's get it over with". Both men were standing on either side of Ryan's bed and both smiled as they saw the stubborn jaw set.

"Okay, we'll go with the opposite leg this evening. Just the one leg. I'm not going to put you through any pain that we can't get out of." He watched as Ryan nodded his head in gratitude, then looked toward Colin who stood by his friend's head with a look of dread on his face. "Colin, I explained to Wayne earlier that I will be teaching you guys how to work Ryan's limbs, so you all can help keep them moving and improve muscle tone. Wayne did one bend today and I'm going to ask you to watch as I do the first bend, then I will talk you through the second. That sound okay with you?". He made eye contact with the kind eyed man, watching as he ran his hand down Ryan's head. Just when he thought Colin would not give an answer he spoke.  
>"Yes, whatever it takes to help Ryan, we have to do.". He spoke with confidence, but Darin could see the anxiety in the dark eyes.<p>

Darin nodded and walked to the foot of the bed, removing the covers and gingerly picking up Ryan's foot.

"Ready, Ryan?"

Ryan swallowed and nodded his affirmation.

Slowly and gently, Darin began to lift and bend the leg upwards. Ryan's eyes immediately closed and his head arched backwards, whimpering softly. Colin's hand never left his friend's head. "He's almost finished, Ry, almost"  
>He spoke until Darin gently set Ryan's leg back onto the bed, then he looked over to Colin.<p>

"Are you ready to give it a try?"

Colin bit the inside of lip, removing his hand slowly from Ryan's head and raking it across his own. Finally,  
>he gave Ryan a brave smile and walked to the foot of the bed. "I guess I'm as ready as I'm going to get".<p>

Darin smiled in support as Colin lifted Ryan's foot. He talked him through the process, noticing Colin's face fall as he watched his friend's face contort in pain, tears of pain again breaking free and streaking down the pale cheeks.

When Ryan's foot was placed back on the bed, Colin immediately went to his friend's side, wiping the tears from the face. "I'm sorry, Ry.".

It was Drew's turn the next day when Darin walked into the room, followed by all the other guys.

By the 2nd week, Darin felt secure enough to come in three times a week, instead of every day. He discussed with Ryan's friends and they someewhat reluctantly agreed that they would continue working Ryan's limbs.

Process was also coming along when the Dr announced that Ryan would soon be ready to set in a wheelchair. This thrilled Ryan who had almost forgotten what it felt like to set up.


	12. Chapter 12

A few days later the Dr came in and asked Ryan if he was ready to try out his new wheels. Greg smiled when he noticed the nurses behind the Dr, brandishing a shiny new wheelchair. He then excused himself for a moment and walked to the cafe where he knew he would find Wayne.

Ryan looked toward the wheelchair and smiled up at the Dr.

"You bet I am."

"Alright then, let's wait for your friends to get back and you, my friend, are going outside. How does that sound?"  
>He smiled at the grin that spread across his patients face.<p>

Still grinning, Ryan answered the question "That sound great, I'm ready."

About that time, the other three men stepped into the room, all with happy smiles plastered to faces.

The Dr looked towards the three men and then at the wheelchair by the door. "Your physical therapist should be here any second now, he's going to help you all with this.". glancing towards Wayne, Drew, and Greg. "You guys don't try to put him in the chair until the therapist gets here, okay?"

Drew nodded and reached to shake the Dr's hand. "We won't and thank you so much."

The Dr smiled once more, shaking hands and giving Ryan's shoulder a soft pat. Then he was out the door.

Moments later, Darin, the physical therapist came into the room, all smiles, and went straight to Ryan's side.

He glanced over at the chair. "You ready to go for a spin, pal"

Ryan nodded, more than ready to get into the chair. "Let's go".

Darin chuckled at Ryan's eagerness, placing a hand on his chest. "Relax, Ryan. It's going to happen, but we have to go slowly.". He then motioned for Drew to bring the chair over and gestured for the other two men to come closer. "I'm going to teach these guys to put you into the chair, because they are going to be the ones helping you. I'll teach the others as I catch them here.". He looked from man to man. "Can all of you pick Ryan up without substantial strain? We don't want anyone hurting themselves."

All three men nodded and Greg spoke. "I don't think that's a problem.". Shooting Ryan a playful grin. "He's a stick with a nose, how hard can it be to lift him".

Everyone in the room laughed, including Ryan. Drew's laugh turned into a soft smile, he couldn't help but think how good it was to hear that familiar laugh. Not too long ago, he didn't think he'd ever hear Ryan laugh again. He shook that thought away, returning his attention to Darin.

Darin glanced again at the three men. "Okay, who wants to do the honors? One of you will help him into the chair today and one will help him back into the bed when you get back. Then it will switch up next time.  
>I'll be here to oversee the first few times and to instruct those that are not here today, then I think you guys will be just fine with this on your own."<p>

Wayne edged closer to Ryan's side. "I'll do it".

Darin nodded and proceeded to lower the side of the bed and then attach the IV pole to the chair, straightening any lines as he went.

He first placed a pillow in the seat of the chair, instructing the men to always do the same.

He then looked to Wayne "Okay, gently put your hands under his back and under his knees and slowly and carefully pull him towards you so that he is near the edge of the bed. He watched in approval as Wayne ever so gently shifted his friend to the edge of the bed.

"There you go, now place your hands in the same positions, get a secure hold and slowly lift him up and into the chair, keeping him against your body as you make your way to the chair."

Wayne did as he was told, gently lowering Ryan into the chair. Ryan paled as Wayne backed away, whimpered softly, but the smile never left his face, though it may have wavered a bit.

Wayne put a hand to his shoulder. "You okay, Ry?". He noticed Darin had immediately placed a restraining hand against Ryan's chest and one against his shoulder, holding him against the chair, without moving his hand or his eyes from Ryan, he explained "It's crucial that someone always be ready to hold him in the chair, he doesn't yet have the ability to set upright, always remember this.". Everyone nodded in understanding.

Ryan nodded "I'm okay. Can we go outside?".

Darin smiled at the question, amused by Ryan's eagerness to get moving.

"In a second, pal.". Then he looked to the other three men in the room. "We need a pillow to place behind his back,  
>guys." Drew quickly went to the bed and retrieved a pillow, waiting for instruction from Darin who looked up and spoke again. "Okay, I'm going to keep one hand here on his chest and I'm going to bring the other one to his back and then gently move him slightly forward so that you can place the pillow behind him."<p>

They all watched carefully and Drew did as he was instructed. Once the pillow was in place, Darin eased Ryan back, not moving the hand from his chest. "Okay, now we have to fasten the restraints." They again observed closely as Darin secured Ryan in the chair, the belts holding him upright and forbidding him to fall forward.

"When you get back and we put him back in the bed, we will practice fastening the restraints on each other. Right now,  
>I want to make sure they are fastened correctly. We wouldn't want Ryan to take a tumble on his first ride." He grinned down at the now visibly shaken man, the pain of all the movements obviously getting to him.<p>

Darin's grin faded slightly, placing a hand on Ryan's shoulder "You sure you're ready for this today, Ryan?"

Ryan immediately nodded. "I'll be okay, let's go".

He took a fresh sheet and placed it over Ryan's thin lap, remembering the breeze outside.

"Okay, time for you to go outside". He brightened at the smile radiating from the pale face. "I'm going to see to other patients. You guys take your time and call my cell when you are back in the room and Ryan's ready to get back into the bed.". His gaze moved to the three men standing around the wheelchair. "Don't let him overdo it, when he starts to tire or seems to be in more pain, bring him back no matter how much he begs otherwise."

They agreed and took off down the hall heading to the hospital garden, Drew pushing the wheelchair ahead of him.

Wayne stopped off at the restroom, promising to find them.

Greg held the door open and was the first to see the expression on Ryan's face as he was met with a cool breeze,  
>he smiled as his friend's eyes closed, a look of pure contentment crossing the pale face as he breathed in the fresh air. Greg met his eyes and smiled down at him, a feeling of relief and happiness overcoming him as Ryan gave him a genuine smile in return, green eyes dancing in the breeze. *It's going to be okay, we're going to get him through this*. At that moment he felt a little weight lift from his shoulders.<p>

Drew pushed the chair over to the gazebo and pushed the safety park in as Darin instructed. He then went to take a seat next to Greg, directly across from Ryan.

He too saw the peace in his friend's green eyes, which caused a feeling of relief and a tint of happiness to overcome him. He smiled as he followed Ryan's contented gaze to a small Cardinal pecking at potato chip crumbs.

Wayne came out a few minutes later, carrying a pack of peanut butter crackers. He set down opposite Ryan and Drew watched in amusement as Ryan's eyes went from the Cardinal to Wayne's snack. Finally, Ryan's gaze went to Wayne's face. "Can you give that little bird your crackers and get some more?". Wayne looked at him in confusion at first then noticed the small red bird searching for more crumbs. He smiled at the simple pleasure Ryan was receiving from just being outside, he'd empty the snack machine for the bird,  
>if it kept that happy look on Ryan's face. "Sure, Ry" he smiled as he got up, crunching the package and dumping it out for the bird who fluttered away at first but soon came back and enjoyed Wayne's snack.<p>

Greg watched all this in happy amusement. Finally, he thought about Colin who had left that morning to catch up on some sleep. "Hey Ry, what do you say we call Colin? He can get to the hospital in 10 minutes and I'm sure he'd want to be here.". Ryan's gaze drifted from his new feathered friend to Greg, his smile widening. "Sure, let's call him.".

Greg dialed the number and waited for Colin to pick up.

Colin's voice was thick with sleep, but Greg thought Colin wouldn't be too angry at him for waking him up.

"Hey Greg, what's up?"

"Sorry, Colin. I didn't think you'd still be asleep."

"Oh, I was just watching TV and I guess I drifted off again. Don't worry about it. Is something wrong".

Colin asked, just in case, but he didn't think anything was wrong because he could hear the tinge of happiness in Greg's voice.

"No, nothing wrong, Colin. The news is good. I am setting in the garden with three of my best friends, watching a chubby little Cardinal munch greedily away on Wayne's snack."

Greg grinned at the phone, waiting on Colin to catch on to what he said.

After a moment's silence, Colin's voice came back through the phone. "Oh, did one of the other guys come back earlier than they'd planned"

"Nope". He decided he'd played with Colin long enough. "Darin came in this morning to help us get Ryan into his wheel chair, he's setting right across from me and I think he'd like it if you were here as well."

Greg could picture Colin's face breaking into a smile as he replied. "That is great! I am getting dressed as we speak, I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Tell Ryan to stay put, I'm on my way"

"We'll be here waiting."


	13. Chapter 13

All heads turned towards the garden door less than 15 minutes after Greg's call.

Colin barged in wearing a huge grin and went straight to Ryan, carefully and gently putting strong arms around the fragile body of his friend.

"So, how does it feel to mobile again, Ry.". He released Ryan and stepped back, smiling down happily at his friend.

Ryan smiled back, sun bouncing off the green eyes. "It feels amazing. You don't realize how much you enjoy such simple things until they are taken away."

Colin nodded thoughtfully, taking a seat next to Drew and looking over at Ryan once again, thrilled to see him out and about.

Ryan was worked up and excited, wanting to talk about everything under the moon and his friends were happy to oblige. They stuck to happy subjects, this was a happy day and they wanted to keep it that way.

About thirty minutes later, Drew looked over to Ryan and noticed he was really beginning to tire and feel more pain. He had a pinched look to his face and eyes that were so lively not long ago were now dull and tired. He knew Ryan would argue, but he also knew it was time to bring him in.

"Ryan?"

Ryan's head had began to slowly fall down to his chest and he lifted it slowly when he heard his name. Sleepy eyes finally met Drew's gaze. Pain evident on the thin face but the smile still came readily. "Yea, Drew?"

"You're tired man and I can see you're hurting more. It's time to go inside and let you get some rest."

Ryan immediately began to shake his head. "I'm okay, I'm not ready to go back yet. Just give me a little more time."

Drew was glad that he had backup. Colin moved to kneel in front of the chair so he could speak directly to his friend. He placed a hand on one immobile knee.

"We'll come back out, tomorrow if they say it's okay. But right now, Ry, Drew's right. You are clearly tired and in pain. I know how much you want to stay out here, buddy, but it's time to go inside now."

Colin could see the pain radiating from his friend's tired eyes, but he still wasn't sure how Ryan would respond and he couldn't blame him if he still argued his point to stay outside. He'd been stuck in that bed so long, he just didn't want to get back in it.

Ryan gazed into Colin's soulful eyes, finally breaking eye contact and directing his gaze downword as fought and inner battle. He didn't want to act like a child and he knew by arguing to stay outside that he was doing just that.  
>He also knew Drew and Colin were right, he WAS tired and his back and legs were killing him, not to mention his arm and his head, which had begun to hurt about 15 minutes ago. He knew he needed to go back to the room,<br>but he wasn't ready to leave this peaceful place and go back to the dull room and uncomfortable bed that he had come to relate as a source of pain and torture, though he knew everything that was done was for his benefit.

Finally, he looked back up to meet Colin's tender gaze and nodded.

Colin stood and placed a hand on Ryan's shoulder, noticing the tenseness there, more evidence of the pain that was overtaking his friend,and automatically massaged the thin shoulder while talking, trying to help ease Ryan's pain.

"Whenever you want to go out Ry, you just let whoever is here with you know. If you are allowed and feeling up to it, we will bring you out here whenever you want. Right now, we can all see that you need to go back inside and rest, alright?"

Ryan nodded again.

"I know, I don't want to go in. I think I'd sleep out here if they'd let me. But, I know you guys are right. Everything I have hurts and I can barely hold my head up".

Greg stepped up to place a reassuring hand on Ryan's other shoulder.

"You'll be back out before you know it, Ry, and I'll pick up some wild bird feed tomorrow."

Ryan smiled his appreciation as Drew bent to free the safety locks on the chair's wheels and speaking for the first time in several minutes.

"Let's get you inside and find Darin so you can rest up for next time.". Then to Greg who was closest to the door.

"I don't have that backing up thing down yet, Greg, can you catch the door for me?"

Greg grinned and went to hold the door open and together the group of friends made their way to Ryan's room. Wayne went off to find Darin and returned not long after with the kindly therapist.

Drew saw the frown cross Darin's face as he took in Ryan's tired appearance.

"I think you overdid it a bit, Ryan. You look about ready to drop". Then looking around the room. "From now on, we need to set a thirty minute time limit, okay guys? I'm not trying to punish anyone or anything of that nature. I know how nice it was and it was hard to leave,  
>I'm not blaming you guys as I would have probably done the same thing if I were in your shoes,<br>but we can't overdo it. That won't help Ryan get better and could set him back.". Darin's gaze wandered from one face to the other. His face showed no anger or disappointment, only concern was written on the round face.

Everyone nodded and muttered their agreement with guilt faces. Darin smiled before speaking again to show that he held no blame or anger.

"Okay, let's get Ryan back in bed, then we'll practice the restraints." He stopped before motioning for Colin. "Colin, you weren't here earlier when we brought Ryan out. I want to make sure you guys can do this yourselves. Can you lift Ryan to put him back in bed? I will talk you through it."

Colin nodded and stepped forward waiting for the therapist to direct him.

Darin grabbed a fresh pillow from the small closet and placed it on the bed before speaking again. He then situated the IV poles and straightened the lines.

"Okay, reach behind his back and under his knees, get a secure but gentle hold,and when you are sure you have a secure grasp lift him up and towards your body. Move him slowly to the bed and very gently lay him down"

Colin did as he was told, easily lifting his friend. Exhaustion was overcoming Ryan by this point and his lean body was almost limp in Colin's arms as he was loosing the battle to stay awake, despite the pain now blazing through him. Being lifted caused Ryan to emit a low moan as his head lolled weakly into Colin's chest, resting there until he was deposited as gently as possible into the bed. By this time, he was fully asleep, though moaning quietly and shifting his head from side to side. He was obviously in pain.

Darin called in a nurse, asking for pain medication. She left only to return a short time later with an injection of strong pain killer, informing the concerned people around her that he would be out for quite some time, but he should sleep peacefully now.

Once she was gone, Darin shifted his gaze to the worried faces of the men standing around the bed of their friend.

"I half expected this to happen guys, he'll be okay. It's not anyone's fault, we just have to keep it to a 30 minute limit for now. No matter how much he begs or how good of a time he is having, you just have to remember to do what is in his best interest and that is to not let become overtired and in this amount of pain."

Drew sighed, running a hand through his short hair, then he nodded.

"He's right guys. We were all just so happy to see HIM that happy that we let him overdo it. We just have to be careful, that's all"

Darin smiled, looking on as the other men nodded, relief and determination showing on their faces, along with admiration and compassion directed at the now peacefully sleeping man in the bed.

"Ok, now that we have settled. Let's practice fastening the restraints. It is crucial that this is done correctly as Ryan cannot hold his body upright at this point. If done incorrectly, he will fall out of the chair."

They worked on learning the restraints for an hour, deciding to go back outside. They took turns setting in the chair and fastening the restraints, finally coming to the conclusion that everyone about had the procedure down, but not yet feeling comfortable enough to do it without Darin there to oversee.


	14. Chapter 14

Ryan set in his chair while Colin paced nervously behind him, waiting for Drew to pick them up.

After what seemed like an eternity in the hospital, Ryan was being released within the care of his friends, who had agreed to take turns staying with Ryan at a rented Condo. All of the guys had been through extensive training to care for their friend, everything they needed to know was covered and everyone felt comfortable and secure in their ability to care for Ryan themselves. But now that the time had come and Colin and Ryan were waiting for Drew to bring them to the Condo, Colin was beginning to second guess himself. Sure, he knew how to safely lift Ryan, he knew how to safely secure Ryan into the chair, he could bathe him (with help) and change the cath, he knew how to exercise his friends' legs, how to administer his medications, including the injections. Still, Colin found himself frightened, *what if's* flashing through his mind. There was so much he could do wrong that could cause Ryan unnecessary pain, make him sick, or even endanger his life. All of a sudden he didn't know if he was ready for this.

He glanced down at Ryan. One look at his friend's face set his mind back in positive motion, a smile was plastered on Ryan's face and Colin couldn't help but smile along with him. He felt the tension began to drain from his body and he began to relax. Taking one more deep breath, he placed a hand on Ryan's shoulder.

"If Drew ever gets here, we'll stop and pick up something to eat on the way to the condo, Ry. That sound okay with you?"

Ryan nodded, not taking his eyes from the direction he knew Drew's SUV would be coming.

"That's fine, Col. I'm just ready to get out of here."

Colin smiled sadly, squeezing the shoulder a little tighter. "I know, buddy. If he's not here in five minutes I'll call his cell again, but I'm sure he'll be here any minute."

Before the last word was out of his mouth, Colin saw the shiny black SUV turn into the hospital parking lot and head in their direction. His own smile widened as he noticed Ryan's face light up when he spotted Drew coming for them.

"There he is, Ry. What did I tell you? I'm going to walk right over here so he can see me. I'll be right back for you". He gave Ryan's shoulder one final squeeze before walking to the end of the pick-up lane where Drew could easily spot him. He waved at his long time friend in the Escalade, waiting until he was sure Drew spotted him before going back to get Ryan.

Walking back to the wheelchair and his best friend, Colin felt the wave of panic try to surface again. They were about to leave the safety of the hospital, with a man who could practically do nothing for himself. All responsibility would lay on his nervous shoulders, Ryan's well-being would be in his hands and that thought continued to nag at him. He loved Ryan like a brother and would do anything for him, and with that thought, he swallowed the nagging fear, smiled at Ryan who he had now reached, and bent to free the safety locks on the chair's wheels.

"Let's blow this joint!". He smiled at the dullness that had started to appear in Ryan's green eyes, he knew the pain medication given to him earlier would be kicking in soon.

Drew pulled up to the curb, stepping out to help Colin load Ryan into the back seat. They had went through this drill several times with Darin and it didn't take them long to get Ryan and his chair into the Escalade. Colin tugged at the seat belt holding Ryan one more time, then checked the pillows piled on either side of him, satisfied his friend was ready, he climbed into the passenger seat and they drove out of the hospital parking lot.

They stopped on the way to the Condo and bought some take-out. Drew had suggested going inside to eat, but when Colin turned to see that Ryan had fallen asleep, that idea was quickly passed over.

"Maybe next time, Ryan is out for the count"

Drew nodded. "Yea, I should have known how tired he would be. Maybe sometime next week we'll all get together and eat somewhere, it will do him good to get out."

Colin smiled in agreement. "Sounds like a plan, we'll have to find out when everyone can get together."

Comfortable silence filled the car until they pulled up at the rented Condo.

Drew had to check several places before he found an available unit that was handicap accessible. The location was nice and close to the medical clinics that Ryan would have to visit frequently. The Condo itself was designed for convenience,  
>with easy access to rooms and wide halls, two bedrooms directly across the hall from each other would make whoever was with Ryan at the time more comfortable at night, knowing they would hear if Ryan needed help.<p>

After parking directly in front of their unit, Drew went to the other side of the vehicle and gently roused Ryan from sleep while Colin wrestled the wheelchair from the back, finally bringing it around to the other two men.

Drew looked at the chair then at Ryan, who was clearly already falling back asleep, head slowly falling to his chest. His gaze then fell to Colin, who stood patiently holding the chair steady, his own quizzical gaze meeting Drew's.

"Why don't we just carry him in, Col?" The slightly heavyset man looked down at Ryan again, noting with sadness the weight his already thin friend had lost since being hospitalized. "He's asleep and peaceful right now, I can pick him up and carry him inside easily. I think it would be better for everyone, easier for us all than putting him in the chair and fastening him in."

Colin seemed to think about this for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"You're right, Drew. You want me to get him?"

Drew shook his head, already reaching into the car and easily lifting the sleeping man into his arms. The only difficult part about carrying Ryan was his height, long legs hanging limply as Drew walked to the door. Ryan had moaned softly as Drew lifted him from the seat, but his head now lay against his friend's shoulder as sleep overtook him once more. Drew looked down at the burden in his arms, noting with alarm just how easy it was to hold Ryan's tall frame in his arms. *He's as light as a feather*.

Colin had went around to get the bag of food before going to open the door for Drew.

"Sorry, I thought I could beat you". He grinned sheepishly

Drew didn't return Colin's grin, instead he looked at Colin with worried eyes.

"How much does he weigh, Col? Were you there when they weighed him last? He feels so light, man!"

Colin returned Drew's stare, matching the worry in his eyes.

"I know, the Dr said he should gain most of it back. We just have to keep getting nourishment down him. Tomorrow, if you could bring over some Ensure or something like that, I'd appreciate it. That might be something I can get him to drink. The Dr said they will keep up with his weight at his appointments, and will take action if it is needed."

Drew nodded. "Sure, I'll pick up whatever I can find. So, do you know his weight?"

"I was never there when they weighed him, but the Dr said he lost about 40 pounds. So, I'd guess he's at about 135 to 145 pounds right now. Which is way too low for him, but he'll be okay, we'll get some weight back on him."

Though Colin tried to keep his voice reassuring and confident, Drew could hear the worry come through.

During the short conversation Colin had gotten the door unlocked and Drew had carried Ryan into the bedroom where Colin had went ahead of them and gotten the bed ready. Drew gently deposited his still sleeping friend into the bed and Colin pulled up the safety railings. The guys had a long debate about whether to buy a hospital bed, finally agreeing that everyone would feel safer if they knew Ryan wouldn't be able to roll out of the bed. They had chosen a larger, more comfortable set, more like a regular bed than a hospital bed, but it came complete with the rails they all felt were needed.

Once they felt Ryan was comfortable, Colin and Drew retreated to the kitchen to eat their meal. Soon, they were finished eating and Drew had to say his goodbyes for the day, promising to be over in the morning before going into the studio.

Colin stood at the door, watching as Drew drove away. He then walked inside, once more swallowing the lump of fear that threatened to overwhelm him. Taking a glance into the room at the sleeping Ryan, he made his way back into the living room, found a ball game and stretched back in the recliner. He was soon asleep himself. 


	15. Chapter 15

Colin awoke to a relentless banging on the front door. Glancing at the clock, he realized he had been asleep for two hours. His thoughts suddenly went to his best friend in the room next door. Still drowsy, he jumped up and was on his way to check on Ryan, when another demanding knock on the door gave him a reminder of what woke him up in the first place.

Looking towards Ryan's room and not hearing any sign of distress coming from his friend, Colin walked towards the living room door. The pounding overtook the room again, the invading sound almost seeming to rebound off the walls. Colin stopped in his tracks when he heard Ryan call for him from the bedroom.

"Col? You in there?"

The older man could hear the slight tinge of worry laced in the voice of his friend.

"I'm right here, Ry. I'll be there in just a second. I think Drew is back with the stuff we needed. Though,  
>I couldn't tell you why he is trying to knock the door down!"<p>

He waited for Ryan's "okay" and slight chuckle before going to open the door. Colin was caught between being amused at the eagerness of his friend to get inside and being angry at the unnecessary racket waking Ryan. *Better let him in before he has a fit*.

As is habit, Colin left the chain lock on the door, only opening the door enough to make sure it was his friend waiting impatiently outside.

The crude face that met his was recognized immediately, moments that he never wanted to remember shot forth through his mind in panic as he slammed the door shut and threw the bolt lock. Backing into the couch, he forced himself to gain some kind of control, and found his cell phone on the coffee table, dialing 911 as he flew into the kitchen to make sure the door there was locked. Colin tried to force the nightmares from his mind, the ruthless beating Ryan took before his eyes, the gun aimed at Ryan's unconscious body, the blood of his best friend running down Greg's arm in thick rivelets. The face at the door was unmistakable. A face painted with scars, ground in dirt, and hate. It was the leader of the pact of trash that had cornered him and Ryan that night. *He must be back for revenge. Oh my God. How did he find us here? What am I going to do?*. Colin visibly shook his head, trying to force the memories and chaotic spray of thoughts from his head. He had to concentrate. He had to figure out how to get them out of this mess.

The beating had continued on the door for a moment and was combined with enraged and nonsensical screaming,  
>only causing Colin's fear to rise. *He's probably high on something*<p>

Before the 911 operator came on the line, the Canadian had checked every door and window in the small apartment and was standing shakily beside his prone friend, who was wide awake and looking at Colin with wide, questioning eyes.  
>He laid his hand on Ryan's arm, voice quivering audibly as he spoke. He saw no reason to lie to his friend. "It's going to be alright, Ryan. I don't know how, but the guys who attacked us in the alley found out where we are and at least one of them was at the door a minute ago. I'm calling for help, so we just have to try and stay calm and wait, they can't get in."<p>

He heard Ryan's breath catch and felt the arm beneath him tense and he gave it a slight squeeze. "It's okay, we're alright."

the voice on the line made him jump. "911. Do you have an emergency"

"Yes, there are intruders outside. Well, at least one, and I know who he is. These people brutally attacked my friend and I some time back and they've somehow found out where we are staying. My friend is paralyzed, caused by the very people outside the apartment right now, and I have no weapons in the house if the bastards should happen to get in here. Please hurry.". He spun the address off, reading from the rental agreement and waited while the operator sent the information through to officers on duty.

He knew how crazy and panicked he had to sound, but he had no idea what he would do if the thugs outside managed to find a way inside.

"Okay, sir. Help will be there as soon as possible. Just hold tight and try to stay as calm as possible. Where are you now and where is your friend. Are all the doors and windows securely locked?"

The female voice on the other end of the phone was soothing and Colin could feel himself breathe a little easier knowing that help was on the way and that he and Ryan weren't alone.

"I.. I'm in my friend's bedroom.". He moved his hand up to Ryan's shoulder, gently kneading the tenseness he found there.  
>"He, my friend, is here with me. He is paralyzed from the waist down and partially in his upper limbs. I don't know what I will do if they get to us, please tell them to hurry. The guy outside sounded wild, high or something.<br>Everything is locked and since I've been in the bedroom I haven't heard anything else. I don't know where he is or if there is more. When they attacked us, there were several of them."

His gaze went from Ryan's pale, frightened face to the bedroom door which he had locked. Panic filled eyes then darted to the window, outside world hidden by thick curtains, but Colin was sure he had locked the window as well.

"They are on their way, sir. You have to try and keep it together, I know it's hard, but for your safety and the safety of your friend, you need to do it. What is your name?"

Colin knew she was trying to get him talking, to help him relax. He obliged.

"Colin, my name is Colin."

"Hi Colin. My name is Haley." Colin could almost see her smile through the phone.

"Nice to meet you, Haley, though I wish it could have been in different circumstances. My friend here is Ryan.  
>He just got out of the hospital this afternoon, we rented this apartment so he could be close to the medical clinics and hospital. I don't know how these guys found us already. I can't believe this.".<p>

He stopped rambling and ran a shaking hand over his balding head, sighing in worry and fear as he followed Ryan's wide gaze to the bedroom door. He gently moved Ryan's head until two sets of terrified eyes met, then he spoke quietly and as confidently as he could muster.  
>"It's alright Ry, they can't get in here. Help is coming". He watched as Ryan gave an unsteady nod.<p>

Haley's soothing voice broke into Colin's thoughts. "It is nice to meet both of you, and you guys just hold tight, help is right around the corner. You should hear the sirens in just a few moments."

Before Colin could speak again he heard the sirens in the background.

"Thank God. I hear the sirens!"

"Good! Before you open the door make sure it's the police."

"Alright, thank you, Haley. So much."

"That's what we are here for. Good luck to both of you guys."

Colin set the phone down on the dresser and cautiously pulled back the curtains to see two police cruisers in front of the apartment.

He turned back to Ryan with a relieved smile on his face.

"They're here Ry. We're alright! I'll be right back, I'm going to go open the door"

Two hours of police reports later, Drew pulled the Escalade through the gates of his rambling estate, insisted his two friends stay at his house.

"It's safest at my place, the place is surrounded by privacy fencing, plus there's the alarms. I'd feel better if you just stay with me for now, both of you. I would have offered my place to begin with but I wanted something that was designed for wheelchair use. Hell, we can make my place wheelchair accessible if we need to."

Colin was too tired and on edge to argue as was Ryan. They both agreed, knowing that Drew was probably right.  
>They would be safe there. <p>


	16. Chapter 16

Drew set up the two bedrooms that were nearest his own and also two that were connected, giving himself and his friends a little added sense of security. This did not deter Colin's worry. Drew peeked in the first room to see Ryan's sleeping form in the bed and was about to walk out when he noticed Colin asleep in the recliner, keeping watch over his prone friend.

He quietly made his way toward the slumped figure in the chair, resting a small hand on Colin's arm.

"Col? Wake up man."

He waited and watched as the exhausted man came to awareness.  
>Finally, Colin came fully awake and met Drew's concerned gaze.<p>

"I'm just going to sleep here tonight, Drew. I'm fine. Go on to bed and get some rest."

Drew sighed, giving his friend a exasperated stare.

"You are exhausted and that chair can't be comfortable, Colin. Ryan is fine, he's out for the night. Not to mention, nobody can get in here, man. Even If they would happen to find a way in, we'd know about it in an instant. We're all fine, why don't we both go to our rooms and get a good nights sleep. Ry is near both of us, one of us will hear him if he needs anything". Drew tried to keep his voice quiet, he didn't want to wake Ryan, but he wanted to get his message across to Colin as well, he could feel the pitch change in his voice as he spoke. His hand tightened on the tense shoulder beneath him.

"In other words, Col. Get your ass up and get to bed. If you don't get some rest, you're going to be down for the count yourself.".

Colin smirked at this, then threw Drew an impish grin before pulling himself from his uncomfortable resting spot.

"Okay, I guess you're right. Should we wake him first, though, to see if he needs anything before we go to bed?"

They both gazed down at Ryan who was resting comfortably, unaware of the worry he was causing at the moment.  
>Drew tore his eyes from the sleeping figure and looked at the tired eyes of the man standing beside him.<p>

"No, I don't think that's necassary. We're both right next door. If he wakes up and needs us, one of us will hear him. You know we'll both be sleeping with one ear on alert anyhow". Drew smiled at his last words.

Colin nodded, carefully tucking the covers around Ryan's shoulders and making sure he was safely in the middle of the large bed.

"You're right. I'll see you in the morning, Drew. Thanks again for taking us in on such short notice."

Drew smiled, checking Ryan's placement in the bed for himself before responding.

"He's my friend too, Colin, and so are you. You know I would do anything to help. We're in this together man,  
>all of us. Goodnight"<p>

Colin offered one more tired smile of appreciation and a pat on the back as he and Drew turned to their respective rooms.

Suprisingly, both men woke in the morning feeling refreshed and well rested. Colin slowly opened his eyes and streched. He could hear Drew fiddling around, probably in the kitchen, on the other side of the large house. Drowsily he crawled out of the bed,  
>deciding to check on Ryan before hitting the shower. Ryan was still sleeping soundly, so Colin figured he had 20 minutes before his friend woke up. With that thought, he headed straight to the shower.<p>

Five minutes later he breathed in deeply as he felt the hot stream of water wash away the tenseness in his muscles.

After forcing himself to leave the relaxing spray of hot water and dressing casually in jeans and a t-shirt,  
>the freshly scrubbed Canadian again went to check on Ryan. This time when he peeked in on his friend, he saw the green eyes open and alert, staring with curiousity around the new room.<p>

"Hey, Ry. I didn't think you'd ever get up."

The head quickly turned to meet his friend's gaze. A smile spreading on the narrow face.

"Hey, Colin. I'm hungry, do I hear Drew cooking down there."

This declaration was music to Colin's ears, he just hoped Drew actually was cooking or had something in the house to cook. They had to act fast, the word "hungry" had not been in Ryan's vocabulary since the incident.  
>He just hoped Ryan actually was going to eat, he knew all the medication made him nauceus. Colin was still optomistic, this was a good sign even if Ry wasn't able to eat much. It was also a relief to Colin that Ryan didn't seem to remember much of the night before, he was pretty heavily medicated during the attempted break-in, and was heavily medicated afterwards, in order to keep him as relaxed as possible. Colin was sure he remembered why he was here at Drew's house, but he probably did not remember enough to cause him worry.<p>

He smiled down at the newly hungry man in front of him. "That is the best news I've heard all week, pal. Let's get you up, cleaned and dressed. We'll find Drew, if he isn't cooking, we'll find something to eat. We'll do it quickly before you change your mind".

He grinned and was pleased when Ryan grinned back up at him.

"Ready?".

He waited until Ryan's okay before continuing. "Yes"

With that short but affirmative answer and without missing a beat Colin made short work of dealing with the intimate and personal care that he knew Ryan hated. It pained him to look down and see the shame in the usually dancing green eyes. "I'm almost done here, Ry. We'll be eating before you know it."

Once that was done, he preceded to bathe his friend with the warm cloth and soapy water he had brought from the restroom.

After digging through Ryan's suitcase for a suit of clothes, Colin reached behind the thin back.

"Okay,I'm going to lift you up again, into a full setting position this time, so I can get you dressed."

Ryan only nodded, eyes not meeting Colin's.

The Canadian sighed sadly, continuing to lift his friend slowly and carefully into a setting postion, letting the tall frame lean slightly into his own.

He kept one hand behind Ryan's back to brace him, slipping the pajama shirt off with the other. Colin reached for the t-shirt that lay beside him and managed to get Ryan into it with one arm. He then did the same thing with his sweat pants, struggling to pull them onto the long, lanky frame without causing Ryan any pain or discomfort,  
>and most importantly, not letting him fall.<p>

Finally, Ryan was successfully dressed and ready to meet the day. Colin kept one hand braced behind his back,  
>he changed Ryan's position so that he could look at him while he spoke. That is when he noticed the large,<br>silent, tears that ran down the thin face.

"What's wrong Ry, did I hurt you?" Ryan didn't pick his head up, so Colin tried again. "Look at me, Ryan.  
>Are you okay?".<p>

This time Ryan slowly lifted his head until sad green eyes met worried brown ones.

"No, you didn't do anything. I'm sorry. Some man I am, can't do anything for myself, you shouldn't have to do this, Col. I'm not your responsibilty. None of you guys should have to take care of me. Where does it say that you guys have to bathe me, dress me, play in my piss, and carry me around like a baby. I can't even control my emotions. Crying like an overgrown two year old and can't even wipe my own damn eyes. I wouldn't blame any of you if you just brought me to some kind of home that deals with people like me, that's what you should do. It isn't right, you doing all of this."

Colin rubbed Ryan's back helplessly as he listened to the frustration, shame, and sorrow flow from his best friend. The older man could feel his own eyes threaten to tear as anger and pain flew washed over him.

He cleared his throat before beginning to speak, unsure of his ability to keep his voice steady, but realizing letting his own emotions show would actually be beneficial to Ryan.

His tone was steady but soft..."Ryan, look at me."

Colin waited until Ryan slowly lifted his head, tears now running freely down his face, eyes red and full of emotional pain.

"Ry, we were both in that alley, they could have grabbed me first. If they did, and it was me that was hurt,  
>would you put me in a home with strangers?"<p>

Ryan sniffed before speaking, trying to contain his emotions. "No, you know I wouldn't."

"Well, do you really think I would do that to you? I love you, Ryan, you know that. You're my brother in every way but blood, and there is no where I would rather be right now. I can't speak for the rest of the guys, but I'd be willing to bet they'd tell you the same thing. We want to help you, because we care.  
>Do you understand that? We are helping you because that is what we want to do."<p>

Never breaking eye contact, Ryan nodded slowly, before giving his friend a weak and watery smile.

Colin smiled back.

"And it's okay, Ryan, to cry sometimes. It doesn't make you any less of a man to show emotions. I don't know a single person that wouldn't be frustrated, scared, or down, in your situation. Don't worry about a few tears, I can take care of that too.". With his last words, Colin softly ran his thumb down Ryan's wet cheeks.  
>"Captain Hair can handle anything.".<p>

This made Ryan grin.

He spoke softly, bringing his gaze back to Colin's eyes. "Thank you, Colin. I'll never be able to thank any of you guys enough.".

"The only thanks I need is to see my best friend walk onto a stage again, and I believe we can get there. We just have to keep at it, Ry. We have to keep working your legs and arms, we'll get them functionalble again. You're already moving your hands and fingers, so we are progressing.".

Ryan smiled, thinking of the moment a few days ago when he was first able to grasp Greg's finger and not longer after than when he picked up the apple that Colin lay in front of him. He wasn't able to get it anywhere near his mouth or even pick it up, but he grasped it and was able to hold on to it.

"I'm still hungry, Col. How about throwing me in this chair and let's grab us some grub."

Colin grinned and minutes later they were in the kitchen looking for Drew.

They were both happy to find Drew cooking a hot breakfast.

Once they had all eaten, Ryan actually had eaten a fair amount, they settled in the living room to talk out the days schedule.

Ryan's first question was about the security and safety of Drew's house. This caused both Drew and Colin to frown. Colin realized he was wrong, Ryan remembered more than he thought.

Drew spoke first, trying to calm Ryan's apprehension.

"Don't worry, Ry, we have it all under control. The bastards can't get in here and even if they do, we'll know about it the second it happens. We're all safe, man. You just worry about getting better, pal."

Before the last word was out of his mouth, the phone ran, making all three men jump.

Drew grabbed it in frustration.

"Hello"


	17. Chapter 17

Drew listened and waited for the person on the other end of the line to speak. It was obvious there was somebody there, he could hear them breathing, loud and ragged, almost like they meant for Drew to hear. A shot of fear tore through him as he stole a glance at his two friends who were watching him with only minor curiousity. Halting his gaze on Ryan's thin figure, he quickly hung up the phone.

"Damn telemarketers" he muttered loudly enough for Ryan and Colin to overhear.

After staring carefully towards the door, making sure the deadbolt was locked and Ryan was safe, Drew then directed his attention to Colin, thinking quickly of an excuse to get him into the other room and out of earshot of Ryan.

"Hey Col, want to come in here and help me write up a little grocery list. That way we won't have to run to the store every ten minutes. You can take a gander in the fridge and cupboards and let me know if we are lacking anything either of you guys eat"

Colin nodded. "Sure, right behind you.". He glanced toward Ryan, who had reverted his attention back to a ball game on the tv. "We'll be right back, Ry. Just holler if you need anything.". The tall man, secured in the wheelchair, looked up and nodded towards his friends then settled his gaze back on the Yankees game.

Once the two men were both in the kitchen and Drew felt sure that Ryan could not hear from the other room, he told Colin about the unnerving phone call.

"That wasn't a telemarketer on the phone, Col. Nobody said anything, but I could hear breathing.  
>It was real loud though, man, like whoever was on the over end of the line wanted me to know they were there.<br>Like they were trying to scare me."

Colin listened intently and was pacing the length of the kitchen by the time Drew was finished speaking.

He ran a slightly trembling hand over his balding head before speaking to the equally nervous man in front of him.

"Alright, we have to stay calm here, Drew. It could have been anyone on the phone, a bad connection, hell, it could have even been a telemarketer, you know how college kids take those jobs and just call random numbers until their quota is met for the day. We can't jump to conclusions."

Drew nodded, biting the inside of his mouth before speaking again. "I know you're right, Col. But, we can't be too loose about this either. The scums have already found you guys once and we both knew they're going to keep looking. People like that can get information, Colin. I think we should call the police and at least let them know. We don't have to go overboard about it, but if they know, then they can at least put a trace on our cells and the home phone."

Colin had resumed pacing, this time making his way to the door which connected the kitchen to the living room. He waited until Drew had finished speaking before quietly cracking the door open slightly. He relaxed visibly as he caught sight of Ryan, still engrossed in the ball game. He then eased the door shut and turned to face Drew.

"I agree. We'll call the police and have them put a trace on the phones. Better be safe than sorry."

Drew ran a hand through his short cropped hair, letting out a worried sigh.

"I can't believe this shit, man.". His voice rose an octave and Colin immediately reached to lay a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"We'll be alright. We have to stay calm. If it turns out to be the bastards, we'll get police to guard the house. We should aslo tell the other guys about the call, just in case. But, I still say it could have been anyone. We can't panic yet.". He stole another glance towards the living room before looking back at Drew. "We also need to keep our voices down, I don't think Ryan needs to be worried about this yet,  
>he has enough to worry about. If it turns out that they found us again, then we'll have to tell him, but until then I think he's better off not knowing. He's got all the stress he needs."<p>

Drew nodded. "You're right. Right now there is no reason he has to add this to his list of problems. We'll call and see if we can get the other guys to meet us outside and tell them there. I'd rather tell them in person so I can explain in detail. He waited for Colin's nod and then gave a small smile. " Then, maybe we can all make good on that dinner date we planned on the way home from the hospital. Get our minds off this craziness for a while and relax. It will do us all good."

Colin smiled and gave his friend a pat on the back. "Sounds good to me, pal. If we can pull Ryan away from that ball game."

Both men grinned as they made their way back to their friend.


	18. Chapter 18

Less than thirty minutes, Ryan was left inside watching the game as Colin and Drew waited in the front yard. One by one, the four men that were able to make the sudden visit pulled into the driveway. Greg arrived first,  
>immediately asking about Ryan, relieved to hear that Ryan was engrossed in a ball game and this visit did not concern his welfare. He was not so happy to hear that the other two men would not discuss the problem at hand, until Wayne, Chip, and Brad were all there.<p>"I only want to say this once, Greg. I'm sorry, but I think it will be easier if we are all here first."<p>

Seeing the worry in Greg's eyes and watching as his eyes drifted towards the door, Colin put his hand on the tense shoulder and looked into the other man's eyes before speaking.

"Greg, Ryan is okay. I assure you. He is right inside the door glued to the tv set. This isn't about his health.  
>Hell, it may actually be nothing, but we wanted you all to know about it, just in case. It's just something that will require some explaining, so we just want to go through it once. We don't feel it is yet necassary for Ryan to add this to his list of things to worry about. That is why we are outside and why we would prefer if you stay outside until the other guys arrive and we are finished with our discussion."<p>

Greg's face turned from worried to perplexed to impatient, but he conceded his agreement.

"Okay, I can't say I understand, but as long as Ryan is okay. I trust there is a reason to your strangeness."

A sly grin crossed his face as he slowly shook his head.

Colin and Drew shared his grin.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, all six men stood in the manicured lawn.

"What the hell is going on guys? You scared the living shit out of me, man."

Brad paced in front of the door, speaking rapidly, anger replacing the fear that showed on his face when he first arrived.

Drew held a meaty arm in front of his friend's chest, causing the pacing to come to a halt.

"Calm down, Brad. I'm sorry I couldn't have been more direct. I didn't mean to scare anyone, but Colin and I felt this was necassary. Once again guys, Ryan is okay. This doesn't involve his health."

All four men nodded their understanding, silently urging Drew to continue speaking.

"Come on Drew, you're killng us here".

Colin looked from Wayne to Drew.

"He's got a point, Drew. Just tell them, we brought them here, won't let them go inside, I know I would be going crazy wondering what was going on." The Canadian couldn't help but grin at his friends as he spoke.

Drew nodded, thinking of what to say as doing so, kicking at the grass at his feet.

"You all know why Colin and Ryan are staying with me, right?"

All four men nodded, worry again appearing on their faces.

"Well, earlier today the phone rang and somebody was breathing really hard on the other end. Nobody ever said anything, but I could tell there was someone there and it seemed like they were trying to scare me. Someone was purposefully breathing into the phone, they wanted me to know they were there, but they refused to speak. Colin and I are going to put a trace on our phones and we think you guys should do the same thing. We also just wanted you to be aware of what happened, in case you get a similar call. I know there's no guarantee it's the guys that attacked Ryan and Colin, but I don't want to take any chances."

There was a moment of silence as the guys all let this unnerving bit of information sink in.

Finally, Chip spoke up.

"Oh great. This is all we need, especially Ry. You said he doesn't know about the phone call?"

"No". Colin looked at his friends one at a time. "We don't see any reason to tell him right now. I mean, it could have been a bad connection, or some kids playing on the line, it could have been anything. I agree,  
>it seems suspicious and I will be the first to tell you that it scares me. But, Ry has enough to deal with, I don't think he needs to have to deal with this too, unless he absolutely has to."<p>

All four men nodded in agreement.

"I agree". Wayne spoke up, pushing himself from the tree he had been leaning on. "We don't need to tell him unless we find out for sure that it is our guy or guys...or however many of the bastards there are. He's nervous enough as it is, the added stress will only make that worse."

Drew nodded, looking down at the bare spot he was beginning to unconciously kick up with his shoes.

"That's what we thought. So, are we all in agreement?"

Everyone agreed, almost in unison, before Colin spoke again, running a hand across his balding head.

"Okay, we will just have to tell the rest of the guys as we see them. At least most of us know now and we can all be on alert. Now that that is taken care of, I bet that ball game is almost off, and if Ryan didn't fall asleep, I know he will be thrilled to see you guys.".

Drew stood in front of the door, holding his hand up as his friends rushed in the direction, a mixture of smiles and chatter.

"Wait guys. We were wondering if you all wanted to go out to eat this evening. It will do Ryan good and we haven't gotten to hang out in a while."

It didn't take long for all four men to happily agree, then Drew stepped aside as they made their way inside.

"Hey Ry!". Chip called out as he stepped into the living room.

He stopped short, smiling sadly, as he noticed Ryan's head tilted forward, chin resting on his thin chest.

"He's out for the count, guys".

Colin sighed as he looked at his sleeping friend. "I think he'd want to see you guys and I know he'd want to get out of the house for a while". He walked to Ryan's side, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder and shaking slightly.

"Wake up and look who's here, pal.".

The body under his hand stayed still.


	19. Chapter 19

When he didn't get a response after giving Ryan a second gentle shake, a surge of panic began to radiate through Colin's system. Full of fear and desparation, he again put his hand on the frail shoulder and gave Ryan a shake, a shake that was rougher than intended, fueled from fear. Green eyes instantly shot open, wide and afraid.

After letting out the breath that he didn't know he was holding, Colin instantly felt guilt.

"It's just me, Ry. I'm sorry. I couldn't wake you up at first and I got a little scared for a second. I didn't mean to shake you that hard. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Ryan only shook his head at first, obviously still drowsy and trying to shake the cobwebs loose. Then he looked up at his friend and grinned.

"You scared the hell out of me, Col. That's all. I'm fine."

Glancing over Ryan's head to the other guys that were headed in their direction, Colin smiled down at his friend.

"Well, in that case, maybe you'd like some company. I didn't want to let them in, but Drew insisted."

Ryan was happy to see his old friends and they all spent several hours talking and goofing off. Colin noted happily that Ryan had laughed more in that time than he had since the attack/

"I'm hungry guys, how about dinner?".

The mention of food caught the attention of Wayne, Greg, and chip, and all readily agreed with Drew's suggestion.

Colin brough his gaze to the face of his best friend and could immediately tell that gaining Ryan's aggreement to dinner was not going to be that easy.

He chose his words carefully, but kept his voice upbeat and cheerful.

"How about it, Ry? You haven't been out for a while. Let's go hang out and grab a bite to eat."

All sets of eyes gazed hopefully in Ryan's direction.

The subject of their interest lowered his head before speaking.

"You guys go ahead, I'm not hungry and I'm getting tired anyhow. I'll just stay here, it's not like I'm going to run off or anyhing.". He tried to smile but wasn't fully successful in that attempt.

Colin had made his way to the front of Ryan's chair and was now kneeled down so that he could look his friend in the eye while speaking to him.

"What gives, Ry?". His voice was soft and almost pleading in nature.

Ryan looked into his friend's kind, brown eyes and decided to just tell the truth.

He kept his head down while talking.

"I don't want to go in a restaurant and have to be fed. People will stare and they will either feel sorry for me or they will be disgusted. I'm not ready for that, guys.

Colin gave Ryan's shoulder a small rub, sighed sadly and looked towards the other guys.

Sad eyes looked back at him, but nobody knew the words to address this concern.

Finally, Drew stepped to face Ryan's cheer and kneeled in front of his friend.

Two slighly plump fingers reached beneath the thin chin and gently lifted it until Ryan's moist eyes met his own sympathetic ones.

"Ryan, I tried to think of a way to tell you that people wouldn't stare at you, but I can't do that, because it's only human nature to be curious about what is different. Yes, there's going to be people that will be watching us. There's no getting around that, buddy. But you know what? This isn't the time to worry about that. Let them stare, the decent ones will just look and come to understand that you have been injured and then go on about their business, or maybe even ask questions. Then there will be the jerks that will just keep staring us down.  
>That is the ones we just have to say the hell with, and let them stare. You have nothing to be ashamed or embarassed about, you didn't do this to yourself. We're all going to go out to eat tonight and we're going to have a good time. I'm not going to take no for an answer because if you say no, I'll just pick you up and carry you."<p>

Drew grinned at his last words, running his hand down the back of Ryan's head before standing.

After a moment's silence and some thought on Ryan's part, he grinned, much to the pleasure of everyone present.

"Okay, I'll try, Drew. Let's go."


	20. Chapter 20

The group stormed into a nearby Red Lobster less than thirty minutes later.

As Drew predicted there were a few stares, some caused by Ryan's condition, some caused by recognition. Fortunately, this caused no problems and everyone was polite and looked away after a few moments.

Between everyone, the guys managed to get a decent amount of food into Ryan while also getting plenty of laughter and smiles out of him. Everyone had a great time and was still chattering happily after eating their fill, when Drew noticed Ryan was visibly tiring.

"I don't know about you guys, but I think I need to hit my couch, I think my lobsters are fighting in here"..he grinned down at his thick stomach.

Everyone snickered as the group got up and slowly made their way to the parking lot when Colin's cell started to ring.

The Canadian looked down at the phone and the smile left his face as he walked away from the group, motioning for Drew to follow him when he got out of Ryan's view. Drew worriedly ran his hand through his short cropped hair and pushed Ryan's chair to Wayne before walking toward his friend, who was already quietly

talking to someone, the annoyance coming through his voice, though Drew could hear a lace of relief.

"This is ridiculous, Pat, and it weren't for Ry and the kids I'd tell you to kiss my ass. But yes, we'll be there within two hours. Don't leave."

The other man was quiet for a minute, Drew was just about speak when Colin started again.

"No, we'll be there. Hell yes, I'll give you money for your damn time, just stay there. We have Ryan with us now and he's too worn down for us to drag him with us. We have to bring him back to the apartment first. Give me two hours, Pat.". Colin's voice became softer. "Please, just stay there and wait. I know you don't care, but he wants to see his kids so bad it hurts. Don't take this from him, Please."

Another moment of silence.

"Thank You."..."Yes...$200..I have the cash".

Colin disconnected the call and looked up at Drew with disbelif in his eyes.

"The bitch has the kids at the airport, told me to come pick them up and send them back to her in two days.  
>There was no word of this until this very moment."<p>

"And she's going to make us pay her?" Drew knew the answer to this question and knew he shouldn't be surprised.

"Yup, she's demanding $200 for her time, she says. She brought them herself and is going to set there with them and take a later flight back. This is bullshit, but we really don't have a choice. I'll give it to her, I have the cash on me."

Drew shook his head sadly. "I'm not the worried about thd damn money, Colin. I just can't believe she would do this. What the hell, man. Mac is old enough to that she doesn't have to set there with them. She didn't even need to come with them, if she had told us what she was doing, we could have been there waiting for them."

"I know, Drew. She's just out for spite, that and money. But what can we do. Ryan deserves to see his kids."

"Yes he does, and he will see them. I don't care how much I have to pay the bitch. Her day will come."

Colin nodded, and looked towards the group making their way to the small group of vehicles.

"Let's get going. I think we should get one of the other guys to stay with Ryan at the apartment while we pick the kids up. He's wore out and I think he's starting to hurt, he needs to rest."

Drew agreed as they made their way to the group, both men also agreeing not to tell Ryan where they were going, just in case something were to go wrong.

"Hey guys, Drew and I need to run to the airport to pick up a friend. One of you guys mind hanging out with Ry til we get back. Shouldn't take more than a couple of hours."

Wayne was pushing the wheelchair containing their clearly tired friend. He placed his hand on a thin shoulder, kneading gently at the tenseness he felt there, all the while sending Colin and Drew questioning stares."

"Sure, me and Ry can hang out until you get back. I think it's time for him to go home and get some rest.  
>You hurting, Ry?"<p>

Speaking up for the first time, Ryan nodded. "Just a little bit, but it's been worth it. I'll be ready to go again by morning."...a small grin spreading across the expressive features.


	21. Chapter 21

A short time later after dropping Wayne and Ryan off at the house and after bringing Wayne back outside to explain the situation,  
>Colin and Drew made the trip to the airport to pick up the children.<p>During the trip the two men discussed the situation and how best to handle it.<p>

Drew's short fingers gripped the wheel tightly..."You know the money isn't the problem here, Col, It's the principal of the matter.  
>She's just using this whole thing to cash in a little more and she's going to keep on doing it. There is absolutely no reason that she needed to fly over here with the kids. She did it just to see if we would hand cash over to her. If it weren't for Ryan and the kids, I would just burn the money in front of her and tell her to blow it out of her ass."<p>

Next to him in the passenger seat, Colin sighed. "I know, Drew...I know. But what can we do? Right now, we're just going to have to let her get away with it. If not, she's just going to put them back on that plane and bring them back home. We can't do that to Ryan."

Drew's hands tightened even more on the wheel as he mumbled "I know we can't. I just can't stand to let her do this to us...to him. It's not right."

The rest of the ride was taken in silence while each man turned their thoughts over in their heads.

"Where in the hell is she? Dammit! She better not of brought them back!". Colin ran his hand over his head.

Tired and aggravated, Drew and Colin had been wondering around in the airport for 45 minutes looking for Pat and the kids.

"Calm down and try her cell again." Drew spoke behind him, placing a calming hand on the other man's shoulder, even though his own blood was at the boiling point.

"I tried the cell 10 times, Drew. She's got it turned off or she's out of range."

Drew gave a heavy sigh. "Well, I don't think she'd take them back knowing we were coming and had agreed to give her the cash, plus you said she reminded you that we promised to pay for the plane tickets. No way would she leave without her money."

Colin stopped to try the cell agian, nodding in agreement. "You're right...you're right. But where could she be?"

As Colin was getting ready to try Pat's number again, his own cell rang.

"There she is!"

"Hello"...the annoyance showed bright and clear in his voice.

"You're telling me that we've been walking around in this airport for a damn hour and you're not even here. You couldn't have called?  
>And why did you need a motel to wait for us for two hours?"<p>

Silence on Colin's end as his face reddened and the fingers tightened around the small device.

"Well isn't that shit surprising. Yes, I will pay for the motel room. What is the room number. Okay, we'll be there in 15 minutes."

Drew stared at him in astonishment as he hung up the phone and met the eyes of his friend.

"She said the kids had to rest after the airplane ride so she got a room at the Hilton across the street. She said we would have to pay that if we wanted to bring the kids with us, she also made sure to remind me once again about the price of the tickets and the extra $200."

Drew just shook his head sadly...his voice laced with anger and a bit of sadness "That's okay, like I said, her day will come. But for right now, let's just go pick up the kids and get back to the house. We'll give her a piece of our minds before leaving, see if we can't scare a little sense into her. Obviously compassion or humanity isn't in her vocabulary, so we'll try another route."

Fifteen minutes later they were knocking at the door of the Hilton room. Pat was quick to open the door and let them inside.

She didn't bother with greetings, her only words were..."Their bags are by the door." ..handing Drew the receipts for the plane tickets and the receipt for the room as she talked.

Ignoring her, Drew and Colin immediately went to the kids who were sitting on the bed. All three children greeted them eagerly,  
>the youngest jumped into Colin's arms. He swung her around as she giggled in delight.<p>

Setting her down, he ruffled her hair..."Ready to go see your daddy? Because I know he is ready to see you guys!".

Nodding her head and grinning, she threw her little arms around his legs.

Drew was busy hugging the two older children, who were just as delighted to see their dad's friends.

"Why don't you guys be putting your stuff in the car and we'll be out in just a minute."

All three kids gave their mom a quick hug before dragging their luggage to Drew's SUV.

As soon as the kids were out the door and safely out of ear shot Drew turned to Pat.

"I don't know what in the hell you think you are pulling here, but this is it."

He threw the handful of money on the floor and kicked it in her direction.

"We're not going to play this shit anymore, do you understand that?"

She glared at him, then over at Colin who was at the window making sure the kids weren't coming back inside yet. He turned to meet her gaze."

"I don't know when you turned into the monster you've become, Pat. But we'll get a lawyer if we need to and we will win. Ryan may not get full custody but Drew has the receipts, I have your demands recorded on my cell, flat out demanding money for Ryan to see his own children. This is the last time this will happen. I promise you that."

Pat's glare went from one red faced man to the other before speaking.

"Isn't Ryan worth some of your million's Drew?" Her tone was laced with a biting sarcasm.

Drew only glared at her in disgust. "Ryan is worth whatever it takes to see him happy and healthy again, as are his children.  
>I will happily hire the best lawyer this country has to offer to make sure he has, if not custody, at least partial custody.<br>He will see his kids on a regular basis. He is worth whatever it takes to make that happen.  
>You, on the hand, you're not worth a red penny, and I will not give you any more money."<p>

"We'll see about that. Ryan is handicapped, he can't take care of himself, what judge is going to give him partial custody?"

Colin spoke up from his watch at the window. "He has plenty of help and support. That won't be a problem."

Pat only glared at each man once more before angrily demanding that they leave and to have the kids back at the airport on Sunday. She would call with the time.

As they left she was bent, greedily gathering the crumbled and scattered money off the floor.

During the long ride back to Drew's house, the kids happily chattered about seeing their dad again.

All three quickly jumped from the vehicle upon reaching the house and raced to the door, followed closely by Drew and Colin. They were met by Wayne.

"Wow, heard you guys a mile away!" He grinned, amused by the excitement of the three children.

"Yea, they're a little excited"..grinned Colin who was now holding the little girl in his arms..."Something tells me they want to see their daddy."


	22. Chapter 22

Colin, the little girl in his arms, made his way to Ryan's room. The other two kids stayed close behind him.

Stopping at his friends' bedroom door, he set the child down, deciding to first make sure Ryan was awake.

"Stay right here for a second guys, we're going to give your dad the surprise of his life"...He spoke quietly, butthe grin on his  
>face and the light in his eyes gave away his joy and excitement.<p>

Knocking softly and not hearing a reply, he opened the door and slipped into the room, only to find his younger friend still  
>sleeping soundly. It only took a second before he decided to rouse Ryan. He gripped the thin shoulder gently and leaned in<br>closer to Ryan's sleeping form...speaking softly. "Ry, are you going to sleep the day away or wake up and join the living?".  
>Colin watched as cloudy green eyes slowly came into focus and his best friend was gazing at his curiously.<p>

"Colin, what's up? How long have I been asleep? I guess the day just wore me..."

"No, no, Ry. I understand, you need your rest. But there's something outside the door that I think you'd prefer over sleep. So  
>what do you say, pal. Up for a little surprise?"<p>

Ryan's eyes never left those of his friend, he stared another second before speaking. Voice high and slow. "I guess, Col.  
>Should I be afraid? Because I can't run. So warn me". A bewildered grin spread across his narrow face as he spoke.<p>

"Nothing to run from, buddy". Colin matched his friends grin and gave the shoulder still beneath his hand a reassuring squeeze  
>before going to the door. "Ready? I think you're going to like this!".<p>

Ryan nodded, eyes going from the door to his friend.

Slender fingers turned the nob and pulled the door open, smiling reassuringly at the children, Colin motioned them inside and stepped  
>back to watch the reaction of his best friend.<p>

He was not dissapointed as he watched Ryan's face change from curiousity to that of sheer joy and love.

Ryan's bed bounced as three excited children jumped into the bed with their father and smothered him in hugs and kissed. Any fear  
>Colin harbored of the children being afraid of the presence of their ill dad slipped from his mind as he watched the sheer joy<br>of the reunion as it played out in front of him.

After several minutes Colin felt it necassary to calm this party, as he was afraid the children would inadvertantly cause harm  
>to Ryan.<p>

He laughed in unbridled joy as he spoke, "Alright guys, time to break this dog pile up. I know you are being gentle, but we  
>still need to be careful. Why don't you guys run downstairs and tell someone to order us a pizza so we can celebrate. "He looked<br>towards Ryan's smiling face. "I'll get your dad up and ready, and we'll be downstairs in just a little bit". With that, the  
>three kids gave their dad one last hug and did as asked.<p>

Once the children were out of earshot Ryan looked up at his friend with tears of joy in his sparkling green eyes. "First, I can  
>never thank you enough. Second. How? How did you ever get them here?"<p>

Setting on the edge of the bed, Colin put a hand on his friend's knee and shot him a mischievious grin. "You don't need to worry  
>about that. They're here." Another coy smile "Legally. Pam knows, she knows all too well that they are here. I won't say it<br>was easy, but Drew adn I took care of it. We can't keep them for long, but we'll enjoy the time we do have them."

The smile never left Ryan's expressive face, but his voice cracked as he repeated his earlier words. "Thank You Colin"

Colin's own voice threated to crack "You don't have to thank me, Ryan. That's what friends are for, right? And it won't stop here.  
>You will get to see your kids on a regular basis, I promise you that. One way or the other. So what do you say? Ready to get<br>up and go eat? We better go before they buy pizza hut out, there's no telling what Wayne is ordering down there."

Ryan's grin grew even wider "You bet, let's go for it".

Pulling his friend up to change his clothes, Colin stopped midway and hugged Ryan to him. 


	23. Chapter 23

Less than an hour later everyone was setting in the living room, surrounded by every type of pizza imaginable.  
>The house was filled with the laughter and gigglees of children, and everyone loved it. Nobody loved it more<br>than Ryan, the smile never left his face.

Colin knew it would be hard for his friend to say goodbye, but he and the rest of the guys were determined the absense would  
>not be nearly as long.<p>

Memories were made in the short time the kids were with their father. Everyone made their Saturday free and they told the kids  
>and Ryan it was their day, between the four of them they chose the zoo.<p>

Then Sunday morning came and Drew knew he had to take the kids back to the airport. Colin's newly acquired stomach virus  
>prompted him to stay out of Ryan's room until he felt it safe he wasn't contagious and nobody else was in the house, so it was<br>on Drew's shoulders to take the kids to the airport and he would have to take Ryan with him. There was no other choice, everyone  
>else was working or otherwise busy.<p>

Sighing he walked in the game room where the children were heavy into a game of pool. "Guys, we have to go meet your mom. Get your  
>bags ready and go ahead and load them into the car. I'm going to get your dad ready and we'll be on the road." Slowly, the children<br>obliged, small faces dropping in anticipation of what they knew was coming up.

Walking into Ryan's room, he found his friend already awake and staring wistfully out the window. "We have to get ready buddy, I  
>don't want to do this anymore than you do, but we don't have a choice". Ryan only glanced at him and nodded. Drew then proceeded<br>to get his friend cleaned, dressed, and ready. Soon, they were all in the car and and on the interstate.

The ride was silent and sad, nobody knowing what to say or how to feel. Drew glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw the large  
>tears slowly slipping down the tiny face of Ryan's little girl. His heart hurt for the pain he knew was coming for the kids and<br>for the man setting beside him.

Finding a parking spot proved no easy task, but finally Drew found a spot. Extra time was spent getting Ryan situated in his chair  
>and getting the children's belongings. He noticed they were slightly late when they reached the spot in which Pat had told him<br>to meet. He also noticed she was not there. *Is she late or was she early and left*. He and everyone else were busy surveying  
>the area when his cell rang. "It's her".<p>

"Hey, sorry I was late, but we are here now"

Drew was quiet for a minute, trying to control his anger as he listened to the rant on the other end of the line.

Telling the kids to stay by their father, he walked out of their range of hearing.

"Pat, I don't believe this. I was 10 minutes late."

Tightening his grip on the small phone, he listened again, finally relenting to just go along with her demands for now, for the  
>sake of Ryan and the kids.<p>

"Okay, okay, I'll bring them to the motel and I will pay for it. Then I will go to my lawyer, straight from this airport and I will  
>get things in motion for Ryan to see his kids without being blackmailed. This is the end of your hateful bullshit.".<p>

Wishing he could slam the phone down, he instead could only push the end button viciously, he thought to himself how it just didn't feel  
>the same as he walked back to his friend and the kids.<p>

"Okay guys, we have to meet her back at the motel. Let's go". Grabbing Ryan's chair he motioned for the kids to follow and they  
>tropped silently to the motel across the street.<p>

Pat, watching from the window, opened the door before Drew knocked, without looking at her, he threw the money down and told her the kids

would be in in a minute, that they were telling their dad goodbye. He also took that time to tell her he intended full well to come through on his promise  
>of the best lawyer money could buy so she better be ready.<p> 


End file.
